You're Not Sorry
by River Laren
Summary: "We found another part of Itachi's deal with the former council. Apparently, he arranged your marriage to your female teammate, Sasuke...Therefore, by the power invested in me as Hokage, I am ordering you, Haruno Sakura, and you, Uchiha Sasuke, to be married this day, the seventeenth of July, at this hour, four forty-five p.m." Tsunade stated, pretending to be sympathetic. Tch.
1. Chapter 1: The Evil Genius of Itachi

**A/N I know I have a lot of stuff I'm supposed to update, but I couldn't help myself. I promise to update them soon, hopefully. The background for this story: Sasuke joins the Akatsuki to get his revenge on Konoha. Towards the end of the war it is revealed the council is working for Madara and Sasuke returns to Konoha believing he gave the order to kill the Uchiha clan. He explains this to the Hokage and it is decided to let him rejoin the village, after he serves his punishment of course. I know that would take at least a year, but I want them to still be around 17. Enjoy, and please tell me if it's worth continuing? **

** The Evil Genius of Itachi **

Sasuke's day was going remarkably well; which was a rare thing for him. He had somehow managed to drag Naruto somewhere besides Icharikku's for lunch and 'train' with Kaikashi. (He really wasn't supposed to take part in 'ninja-like' activities due to his probation. Though it was amazing how often that could be overlooked when there were not enough genin to plant potatoes.) Now he was being called to the Hokage's office. It could be bad, he supposed, but Sasuke had a feeling she would tell him his probation had been served. '_It's about time too,'_ he thought irately. Sure, he'd abandoned the village, left Sakura on a park bench, almost killed Naruto _multiple times_, and declared the former council as his greatest enemies that had to be killed. But making him live with Naruto and plant potatoes for the rest of his life was cruel and unusual torture worthy of Orchimaru. Besides, he'd come back of his own free will once he had learned the council was working for Madara all along. It still stunned him the man who had told him the truth about his brother had really been the man behind the massacre. It was only then Sasuke had truly understood the driving force behind all his brother's actions.

"What's wrong, teme? Sacred of the Hokage?" Naruto's voice brought him back to Konoha.

Sasuke gave the blonde a withering look. "Of course not, Dobe."

"I think you are," Naruto gloated in that annoying sing-song tone. "You had that look on your face you get when-" he broke off when the Uchiha turned on him, sharingan activated.

"When what, Dobe?" he growled fiercely.

Out of the corner of his eye Sasuke saw pink hair run up to them and suddenly stop. "Sasuke…Naruto…?" Sakura asked anxiously. Sasuke ignored her; he was searching Naruto's eyes. He had over-reacted again, he knew it. But experience had taught him never to back down, no matter how wrong he was. The far away voice of logic told him that if he fought Naruto it would ruin his chances of getting off probation anytime soon.

Suddenly understanding of the situation dawned in Naruto's eyes and the idiot grinned. "Oi, teme, we better get going. She gets angry when people are late, and even I'm scarred of her when she's angry." Naruto bounced down the street in his normally energetic way. It absolutely disgusted Sasuke.

"Sasuke," Sakura's guarded voice cut into his thoughts. "What was that about?" He regarded her briefly and decided to reply after all. "Nothing." Sasuke started after the blonde ball of energy. Sakura fell into step beside him. He ignored her presence, but still it annoyed him. He could not think of a decent reason for her to walk beside him. He was sure his audience with the Hokage was private; at least it should be. His probation status was none of her concern. Perhaps the infernal woman had a mission in mind for them. She better have. He supposed that if a mission was involved he could tolerate Sakura walking beside him as long as she was silent.

The door to the Hokage's office was thrown open and agitated voices flowed out. _"Naruto!" _ Tsunade snapped, "I think I would know if I summoned you or not!"

"At least tell me if Teme's off probation!"

The Hokage sighed. "Yes, he is."

"Then Team Seven can go on missions again! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto bellowed.

The blonde woman was already shaking her head. "No, I did not say that. I'm afraid Team Seven will not have a mission together for quiet some time…if you ever do."

Sasuke carefully hide his surprise from her; it would give her too much satisfaction. However, he couldn't stop his left eye from twitching in annoyance. She was denying him the right to be on his old team? Not that he would miss them, all three of them were a burden and he had surpassed them all long ago. She was only trying to humiliate him, probably some idea of making him retake all ninja training again. The thought made his blood boil.

"Shishou…" Sakura said quietly. She was pleading for him. That was unexpected. Of course the dobe would, but Sakura gave more credit to his case. She was, after all, the Hokage's apprentice.

"But Baa-chan!" Naruto bellowed, "Teme _has_ to be on our team! HE JUST HAS TO BE!"

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples. "I will discuss Sasuke's placement on a shinobi team with _you_ later. Right now I am talking with Sasuke."

"BUT-"

"Dismissed."

Sasuke watched as Sakura began dragging a still protesting Naruto toward the door. The Hokage seemed to make a snap decision then. "Shizune will show him the way out. I want you to stay, Sakura."

"Why does _she_ get to stay?" Naruto whined. Suddenly a smug look formed on his face. "Is this about them? Are they togeth-" Shizune slammed the door shut.

Sasuke wasn't sorry. During his probation he had developed a constant headache because of Naruto. He turned back to the Sanin, his expression demanding her to get to the point.

She sighed and reluctantly began. "We found another part of Itachi's deal with the former council." His eye twitched. The woman continued, "It seems he was concerned about the…" She paused and Sasuke growled. "Look Uchiha," she snapped. "I'm not enjoying this."

"Then hurry up and stop wasting my time."

She stood abruptly. The whole building shook. It was obvious she had been drinking. "Why you ungrateful brat! How dare you cop an attitude with me! Do you think I _want_ to tell my student she has to get married?" Her eyes widened and she slapped a hand to her mouth.

Sakura gasped. "What are you saying?" In her shock the pinkette forgot to be formal. Nobody cared.

"Spit it out," he demanded turning back to the blonde woman. In his gut he knew where this was going, but he wanted it clearly out in the open. Tsunade's eyes narrowed at his rudeness, but she handed him a scroll wordlessly. Sasuke scanned the contents, growing angrier by the second. Itachi was dead, the council was dead. There was no way they could enforce this. He would make sure of it. He glanced at Sakura. She still hadn't worked it out yet. Or maybe she was just that innocent. Either way he didn't care. He met the Hokage's eyes in a challenge. "No."

She sighed and massaged her temples again. "I'm afraid the two of you do not have a choice. There is nothing I or anyone else can do to make this void. I'm sorry." No she wasn't. There was no way she could be truly sorry about this. If she was she would stop it from happening. The ruse didn't fool Sasuke. He knew first hand the power the Hokage wielded. She was stressed, troubled, frustrated, maybe even angry, but she was _not _sorry. His grip on the roll of paper turned into a chokehold.

"What, exactly, do we have no choice in?" Sakura asked timidly. He could tell she didn't want to hear the answer. Sasuke stoically handed her the scroll. She looked up with a horrified expression. " 'To assure the survival of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Sasuke shall be married as soon as he is of age to his female teammate!' " She cried. "Surely, this is just a sick joke?" she pleaded.

"No, I'm afraid it isn't. That is the Third's signature, and I'm sure Sasuke will vouch for Itachi's?"

He scowled, but could not dispute it. "It is."

"Then I'm afraid it's official."

"But why me? Why not his other teammate? He _chose_ her," Sakura was grasping at straws now. He couldn't really blame her, but there was _no way_ he was marring Karin.

"Because I still don't trust her. But besides that, we both- all, actually," Tsunade pointedly looked at Sasuke, "know that you would make the best wife for him. Also, he tolerates you, which is important, and more than even his other teammate gets. My hands are tied, Sakura. If it will help, think of this as something you are doing to keep Konoha safe in the future." Sasuke seriously doubted it was going to help. "Now if one of you would read the fine print below the signatures?"

Sasuke turned to Sakura expectantly. Her hand was trembling and she shook her head. "I- I can't."

Sasuke took it from her and read, "One year without missions will be provided for the production of the required heir to the Uchiha Clan." Sasuke's insides clinched and boiled; but he managed to keep his voice monotone.

"W-when?" Sakura's choked voice interrupted the tense silence.

"The child must be born within a year."

Sasuke noticed her blush, but she managed to rephrase her statement. "No, I was asking about the wedding."

"Oh," the Hokage smiled, "Your only stipulation is that you must be married within six weeks. Other than that it's up to you. So are the preparations and invitations. After all, this is your wedding. It's the only one you get though, so plan accordingly," she lectured.

Sasuke tuned her out. He really didn't care about the wedding. It _would_ be prudent to sit in on the planning though; that crazy best friend of Sakura's would try to ruin his wedding and excluding her would be impossible.

"However," Sasuke tuned back into the conversation then, "I would caution you to keep this relatively quiet. Since your...fiancé-" that word in reference to himself made his stomach churn, "-is the last Uchiha there will be those like Madara who will be interested in controlling any new sharigan users. Until your children can defend themselves, it will be up to the two of you to protect him. Secrecy will help the most, I would think."

Sakura nodded slowly. She was still in shock. Sasuke almost felt sorry for her, except he was the one she had to marry.

The Hokage was also studying her student with concern. "In know this has been a lot to take in. Sakura, go home and get some sleep. I know you're tired from your hospital shift. Sasuke, she is now your responsibility. You are her bodyguard. If anything happens to her I will personally hunt you down. Is that clear?"

He nodded. This was going to be a long year and it hadn't officially started yet.

"Good. Now take your fiancée home." He turned to do as the Hokage ordered. "Oh, and Sasuke?" he paused. "I expect you to step up and explain this to her parents."

He scowled. There was no way he was doing that.


	2. Chapter 2: Because

**A/N: Wow! Thanks for the great reviews! I really appreciate them! I think that's the most I've ever gotten on one chapter! You guys are awesome. :) I'm glad you guys like it. To be honest I've had this idea for a while but just didn't publish it. I'm glad I did now. So here's the next chapter:**

***  
>Because <strong>

They were silent as they walked out of the Hokage's office.

The awkwardness was filled by the evening heat and domestic noisesthat came from the village. Across the street, a kid was torturing a cat while the boy's mother yelled that it was time for dinner. Sasuke saw his own mother's face for a brief second, and a new ache filled his heart. He realized this one would not be satisfied with revenge. He really didn't know what _would_ satisfy this pain;just that it would cost him more than anything else had so far. Considering his history, he was theoretically better off if he ignored it, except he got the feeling this one was going to kill him one day if he didn't find a way to make it stop.

Right now he didn't care. He had more important things to think about.

Like the Dobe bouncing up to them. "Hey, Teme. Sakura, did you talk some sense into Granny Tsunade?" His tone was hopeful. Sasuke snorted. Like that could happen.

"Don't talk about Tsunade-sama like that!" Sakura slapped the blonde in the back of the head.

"Oow! Sakura-chan!"

"Serves you right," she snipped.

"Now it's gonna bruise and Hinata-chan will see when we get to the celebration!"

Red flags popped up in Sasuke's mind. "_What_ celebration?" he hissed. Those idiots better not have planned a 'surprise party' because he was off of probation. That was just stupid.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well…um…it's kinda of secret."

"Not anymore Dobe. Now tell me what you did." He wasn't petty enough to add, _"Or else", _but it was obviously implied.

"How come you always blame _me_?" the blonde whined.

"Because you're always doing stuff to annoy him," Sakura interjected, stopping the fight before it started. "Let me guess, though. Kakashi planned this party at Ichariku's."

The idiot stared at her entranced. _"How did you _knooow_?" _Sasuke rolled his eyes; he would swear the Dobe's eyes were as big as dangos.

Sakura sighed. "Were we supposed to be surprised?"

"Well, Kakashi-sensai didn't _say_…"

"It doesn't matter. I'm not going; I need to train." Sakura looked at him as if to say, _'for what?' _She was right, but Sasuke hated other people deciding his future for him.

Two pairs of eyes abruptly turned on him.

"You have to go." They both said at the same time. Sakura glared at Naruto.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Or what?"

"Or, Kakashi can make the rest of your life an embarrassing misery." Sakura held up a finger for enfaces. "He can make sure you never become a shinobi again," another finger went up. "And…he can subject you to unmentionable tortures." She now had three fingers in the air.

"Plus, you don't have anywhere to live yet, Teme. Besides my house, I mean. But you're going to need something more 'long term' and Kakashi is very influential in the village," the Dobe pointed out. Sasuke hated it when he thought things out. "Come on! We're going to be late!" He ran ahead of them down the street. "Oh, and Teme, you should act surprised!" He shouted back over his shoulder. "And don't look like you're about to kill someone! Yeesh!"

Sasuke pointedly glared back at him. That was too much to ask for. Yes, he had to go to this stupid party, fine. He was. But there was no way he was going to 'act happy' about it.

Beside him, Sakura had put on a fake smile. He was beginning to realize just how good she was at doing that. She waved at villagers and even exchanged pleasantries. There was now no sign that what had taken place in the Hokage's office had ever happened. That was a good thing, he supposed, because he had already decided life would go on like it never had. There was no real reason for him to do what the Hokage had ordered. It wasn't like he really intended to marry Sakura. Both Itachi and the Council were dead. That should void the 'contract' on the basis of the circumstances surrounding it. There was nothing the Fifth could do to _make_ him marry her anyway; and soon the whole mess would just blow over. It had to.

"I know what you're thinking."

He frowned. _No one_ could possibly know what he was thinking. He looked at the petite girl at his elbow and told her so.

"Hm. Well, not in exact words. But you must be thinking Tsunade-sama will just give up if you resist hard and long enough," she said softly.

Sasuke scowled because he had been thinking just that; Sakura reading his mind was disturbing.

"She would not have done this if she didn't have too. And she has just as much stubbornness and patience as you do. So if you play that game, be careful," she was saying it to herself more than to him.

He knew she was exaggerating the patience. The first female Hokage had about as much patience as Naruto. _It's enough to make you think they _are _related, _he thought. But he would play Sakura's game. It would be prudent to know where she stood. "Then what would you suggest?"

"You know how your brother thought. Find a loophole."

It was a simple statement. For anyone else, it would have worked. But Itachi would have left no loopholes. Sasuke realized his brother had left the specific 'wife' out. He could marry anyone he liked. He just had to be married, and there was no one he wanted to be married to. Sakura was the obvious choice on all other principles, so she had been chosen. If he was honest with himself, he preferred her over anyone else; for him there was no loophole.

"Itachi would have left none. Even if he had, the council would have changed it by now. What else do you suggest?" He was purposely pressing her. It would be best for her to realize there was no way out now instead of later.

She sighed, defeated. "I don't know."

"So you see, we have no other option but to play that game." It was final.

There was a long pause. The civilian men were home for dinner now, families were laughing together, a dog got into somebody's garbage, and there was the soft clicking of their shoes on stone. Sasuke glanced at the store fronts as they passed. Villagers still out gave him hostile looks. He ignored them, because they could never understand what he had been through. Children stared at him openly in a mix of suspicion and amazement. Even they had heard the stories of what he had done by now. Still, they could not understand.

"Your return has made Kakashi-sensei happy."

He wondered briefly why Sakura always felt the need to talk. "Hn."

"No, you don't know. He really smiles now. He's always laughing when Naruto bugs you. He reads his book less. He's happy now. Don't ruin this for him." There was almost a challenge in her voice, but he brushed it aside because this was Sakura speaking.

"I intend to get through this night as quickly as possible. Ruining it would be a waste of my time," he deadpanned.

Sakura stopped. Sasuke rolled his eyes and kept walking. If she was trying for dramatic effect, it wasn't going to work with him. How long would it take her to figure that out?

She reached up and grabbed at his collar. That got his attention. _"What?"_ he snarled.

"I don't care how awful you think this is. If you so much as do _one thing_ to upset Kakashi-sensei or Naruto you _will_ regret it, I assure you." Her tone was everything a threat should have been, but it didn't matter. She could not touch him and she knew it.

He shoved her hand from his throat. "Don't flatter yourself. I don't care that much." He pointedly turned away and walked into the small restaurant. He felt Sakura glaring at his back.

The party was everything Sasuke expected it to be. The entire rookie nine were there. So were Gai's team, and even the Hokage's assistant.

He briefly wondered what connection she had to this, but when she blushed and snapped something she obviously didn't mean at Kakashi, Sasuke knew. Somehow the thought of his teacher having a 'significant other' was extremely wrong. Just about as wrong as being married to Sakura.

Sasuke sat in the corner and ignored everyone else like he had planned. The others politely ignored him in return. He could not understand why Kakashi did this. It wasn't like any of these people cared about him. That was obvious. They had come only because they were asked to.

He glanced back around the room. Naruto was having an eating contest with Choji while talking ninety miles an hour. Sakura was yelling at him to shut up before he choked himself and died. Ino was yelling at Sakura to stop yelling at Naruto because he obviously wasn't going to ever shut up, and they might as well be able to hear tomorrow. Shikamaru was passed out between them; apparently, it was possible to sleep while the three loud mouths were 'talking'. Hinata sat beside Naruto. Thankfully she was silent, but she was blushing so much her skin was actually red. She leaned over and whispered something to the Dobe. She must have been encouraging him, Sasuke decided. Not like he needed it, though. Hyuuga was quietly talking with Tenten in the other corner. Sasuke couldn't see Kakashi and his 'guest', not that he wanted too anyway.

All these people were fine without him. They didn't need him here for this. In fact, it would be better for Lee if he wasn't. His advances on Sakura were sickening, and technically, she was engaged. Not that Sasuke cared; it was just annoying. If he did care, Lee would have left Sakura alone forever. But it didn't matter either way, because he would not marry her. So Lee could do as he liked, at least, as Sakura let him. Sasuke didn't care.

To prove it, he got up and left.

He had come, he had even eaten _more_ of that evil ramen, and he had 'socialized' like he was supposed to. So, he could leave. No one would care anyway. Sasuke did; they didn't even notice.

Naruto never came back to his apartment that night. Sasuke was surprised. But the Dobe was unpredictable, so it didn't matter. Hopefully he would wait so long to come back that he would have forgotten about the Uchiha leaving early and the accompanying lectures.

Sasuke found an extra kunai pouch lying around and strapped it to his waist. The Hokage hadn't checked security very well. But if he had wanted to destroy the village, he would have sooner or later and there would have been nothing she could have done about it. Perhaps she was wise enough to know that. Perhaps that was why she wanted to saddle him with a wife. With a child.

He scowled and forced such thoughts from his mind.

He would have to find his katana soon. It would not be right to train without it. He would need some more shurikan and tags. It would be nice to have the windmill shurikan with the chakra strings attached. And some soldier and blood pills would be good. He should always be prepared, even if he wouldn't get any missions.

Naruto burst in. "TEME!" he panted briefly. "Have you seen Sakura-chan? SHE'S MISSING!"

For a moment, Sasuke froze. But as he thought about it, he realized that if she had, Naruto would be feral now. Plus, he would have been tracking her with Kakashi. "Stop being so dramatic. What really happened?" He was curt because he knew that whatever had happened would be a long, drawn out process to resolve.

Naruto frowned at him. "No one's seen her since last night. Baachan said you would know where she was." Naruto was bothered, Sasuke realized.

"I don't. Surely you've traced her chakra signature?" His tone was even could be very bad for him if Tsunade was involved.

"I can't," the blonde replied almost hysterical. "She's too good at hiding it!"

Sasuke was sure there was a discrepancy here, but either way, they wanted him to be the 'good guy' and go after her. Fine, he might as well. "And I'm sure Kakashi's dogs can't pick up her sent either. Whatever. I'll find her."

Naruto grinned. "Great. Let's go!"

"I said I would find her. That's obviously what you want. Go tell the Hokage."

The Dobe frowned. "But-"

"Do you want my help or not?" he demanded.

"Take her of her for me, then. Promise me." Naruto's blazing blue eyes bored into his.

Sasuke paused. It sounded like he knew. If he did, he was promising more than to make sure Sakura got home safe. He was promising to protect her for life. Meeting his friend's eyes, Sasuke realized it; Naruto wanted him to love her. He couldn't do that.

"Just...do your best, Teme."

Sasuke's inward battle gave way, and he nodded once.

"That's all I want. Go," Naruto shoved him out the door.

**A/N: Review? **


	3. Chapter 3: Crazy Like That

**A/N: Sorry this took so long.**** I do not own Naruto. Thanks to Sakura 8D for Beta-ing this.****Now, here's the new chapter. Yay! :)**

**Crazy Like That**

Sasuke had been searching for hours. It was now noon, and the hot sun beat down on him as he stood at the training grounds. This was stupid. Sakura was annoying. Naruto was an idiot. Tsunade was a witch. The whole village was hateful, gossipy, and Sasuke didn't want any more of it.

Unfortunately, if he left the village, he would be hunted down like a rabid dog. Actually, considering the fact that people cared more for animals than each other (which was why the massacre bothered no one), his death would be worse.

He sighed. He really had no clue where Sakura was. If she was in the village, which he was beginning to doubt, she must be hiding in the Dobe's closet. He had been _everywhere_ looking for her. The training grounds, the hospital, every restaurant in Konoha, the book store, the library, Yamaka's flower shop, even the Hokage tower. Shizune had suggested he try her parents place, and he had. After an awkward confrontation with her father, Sasuke was informed she wasn't home. Because he knew how sentimental she was, he even degraded himself to checking that accursed bench he had left her on that night; the one that always invaded his mind whenever he thought of her.

Sakura was gone.

It was like she had disappeared. Despite common belief, ninja really could not transport themselves anywhere; the smoke was only a distraction. That had been one of the first lessons taught in the Academy. He remembered the instructor's words, "The smoke is only to hide the direction of your escape. If you are not quick enough, they will see you and you will die." It had only been later Sasuke had realized how true that was.

She had to be in this village. They were not allowed any missions, and Tsunade was too concerned about her safety to allow a vacation. That meant she had to be around somewhere, unless…. No, that was absurd. She would never do anything as stupid as that.

But the thought kept bugging him. What if she had ran away?

Sasuke gritted his teeth and growled. _She would never do anything as _stupid_ as that. _Did she not know how much of a target she would be? Sure she could take care of herself, unless Madara took a personal interest in this mission. Then she would die. Or worse.

He flung a chidori at a tree. Sakura was so annoying. He could have been training right now. He could be doing ten million other things, but he _ha__d _to look for her. And _of course_ she couldn't make it easy!

"Hey! Watch it, Kak-" Shikamaru yelled jumping away from the smoking tree, or what was left of it. "Sasuke," he blinked, obviously surprised to see the Uchiha. He quickly changed to ninja-mode, "You should be under surveillance. Where are the ANBU?"

Sasuke cursed whatever had made his life turn out like this. He really hadn't meant to almost incinerate Nara. That could cost him jail time if the right people found out. He formed an adequate response, but he really hated diplomacy. "I was released from probation yesterday. I apologize," he said through gritted teeth, "I did not know you were there."

Nara's eyes examined his in that irritating way only someone from Konoha could achieve. "I believe you." Sasuke blinked in surprise. This was unusual; after everything he'd done to the village and his friends, Nara should never speak to him again. "But in return for my belief, I want your honesty." Ah, of course there was a catch.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke scrutinized the other man for the signs of duplicity. He frowned; there were none. But he must be planning something.

"I'm assuming that if you are frustrated enough to attack an innocent tree, something must be wrong. I would like to know what was catastrophic enough to upset the great Uchiha," he mocked.

Sasuke inwardly fumed. But after considering all of his options, telling Nara was the best. That angered him even more. In the end though, he threw down the scroll he had kept since yesterday. "Sakura's missing."

Nara raised an eyebrow, and silently opened it. Sasuke gauged his reaction carefully. He obviously saw the broken Uchiha seal. As he read on, his eyebrow twitched and a stern frown pasted itself on his face. Shikamaru didn't bother rolling the scroll up before he hurled it toward Sasuke's head.

The Uchiha plucked it from the air in front of him and tucked it into his pocket. "You asked for honesty," he reminded him, trying very hard not to sound smug. "You have just read it. I had nothing to do with this. I would refute it if there was any way to do so. If Sakura has left the village, she has opened the door to more suffering than she could possibly imagine." And there it was, the ugly truth and his proud 'plea' for help.

Nara cursed heavily under his breath. "You think she has?"

Sasuke nodded. "I can not find her in the village."

"Only Sakura would be rash enough to do this. Why couldn't you have been paired with someone like Hinata?" he muttered.

Sasuke didn't reply; it was a rhetorical question. The answer seared his mind anyway: _because you would have eventually killed her_. "This has to stay off the record, leaving the village is treason, even Tsunade cannot overlook this."

Nara glared up at him, "She overlooked everything you did, didn't she? And we will not betray her." Sasuke read between the lines: _But you will if it benefits you._ "Unfortunately, it's going to take Kiba and Hyuuga to find her. Sakura's chakra trail is impossible to read."

It shouldn't be, but Sasuke wasn't allowed enough chakra yet to break through the mask she put over it. He glowered at the jounin. "You should be able to find it."

"You really don't know anything about her now, do you _'Sasuke-kun'_ ?" The Uchiha growled. "She is better at chakra control than even Lady Tsunade. You have a lot to learn." They held gazes for a moment. "But because I am nice, I will speak to Hyuuga first. You can ask Kiba for help finding your fiancée."

Sasuke was now not at all sorry about the chidori earlier. He waited for Nara to 'disappear' before standing. He was _not_ looking forward to this. He had no idea why he was going to all this trouble for Sakura.

Before all the memories came rushing back, he went to find Dog-boy.

"So let me get this straight; Sakura has left the village and Shikamaru thinks we need to find her? Um, why? Sakura can take care of herself." Inuzinka stood with his arms crossed on his front porch. "And _why_ should I help you?"

Sasuke swallowed down the words he _wanted_ to say. _This is all Sakura's fault, _he thought bitterly. "Because this time Madara is after her," the explanation was basic, but still true.

"Why?" Kiba asked in a 'duh' tone of voice.

Sasuke clenched his fist. He could not think of a civil answer to this; not that he particularly wanted too.

"Because Itachi arranged their marriage." It was obviously Hyuuga's voice that came from behind him.

"WHAT?" Dog-boy shrieked.

Shikamaru leaned forward and covered his mouth. "Be quiet! Do you know what's going to happen when Naruto finds out? One crisis at a time!"

Kiba glared and shoved his hand away. "Why her, Uchiha? Do you know what she has been through because of you?"

"Do you really think I wanted this?" Sasuke asked dryly.

"Of course not, you always were too blind to see a good thing even when it bit you." That was it. Tracking abilities or not, Dog-boy was going down.

Before Sasuke could carry out his plans, Hyuuga interrupted. "Give it up, Kiba. It's not like you had a chance of a date with her anyway."

Huh. Since when had _Hyuuga _cared enough to help him? Either way, it worked. Kiba glared at the ground. "That doesn't matter! The point is: Sakura is being forced to marry the man who almost murdered her! If she runs away, more power to her." Inuzinka locked eyes with Sasuke. "And I will _not _help you find her." He turned to go back inside.

Sasuke grabbed the back of his shirt and whipped him around. Sharagan spinning, he shoved the other man up against the wall. "If you really wanted to help Sakura, you wouldn't waste another minute trying to save your pride, and get out there to find her. Do you know what is going to happen when word gets out?" Dog-boy defiantly stared back. He snorted. "Apparently not. Shall I show you?" Visions began circling in his eyes, all of the horrible things he had seen over his rouge years. Kiba began to shutter. When Sasuke let go of him, he was trembling. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Kiba cried. "I'll help you. No one, especially Sakura, deserves to go through that. But when we get her back, you have to promise to fix this for her."

Sasuke turned back around, his eyes still blood-red. "If there was anything that could be done, I would have done it."

"He's right," Nara commented. "Itachi fixed this. I read the contract myself; there's no way out."

Behind him, Sasuke heard Kiba sigh. "Fine. I'll do it. For Sakura."

Outside the village, the big hairy beast that some called a dog picked up her scent. The chase wasn't easy; Sakura had done all she could to hide her trail. Sasuke growled frustrated. _Stupid, annoying, senseless woman. _She could be dead by now and none of them would even know where the body was.

"Neji, check that tea house. She might have stopped there," Shikamaru commanded.

After a tense moment of waiting, Hyuuga responded. "She just exited. We can catch her on the road in five miles by ambush. I think it would be best to avoid further chase, there are some interesting characters leaving behind her."

Sasuke frowned. This was his job. It was true he had been forced to enlist help to find her, but needing help to 'catch' her was unthinkable. "I will take care of it. Continue watching the tea house and the road. There could be Akatsuki members nearby."

"No. We're going with you," Kiba demanded.

Sasuke sent him a withering look. "I told you, I will take care of it."

He ghosted through the trees easily. After a mile, he caught sight of pink hair. His scowled intensified. _Annoying._ He arrived at the 'ambush' point a few minutes later. Sasuke leaned up against a tree and waited. His vision pinpointed her chakra moving steadily toward him. He heard the crunch of every footfall, every jingle of the pack she was carrying. He was also aware of the scent of almonds floating on the breeze and the swish of her hair as her legs ran on.

Sasuke waited for her to draw even with him before grabbing her wrist and using her inertia to pull her to him. Firmly holding her upper arms, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "What do you think you are doing, _Sa-kur-a?_"

"S-sasuke?" She blinked, obviously stalling.

He didn't reply. The scum that had been following her had caught up to them. Sasuke pulled out a pair of shurikin. _Naruto better have sharpened them. _With a flick of his wrist, he had pinned them to their respective trees. It would only hold for a minute, but the others should be able to take care of them. "Did you know what the repercussions of your foolish decisions would be?" He asked her.

"I could have easily handled them!" Sakura protested, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. He let her have some slack, but kept a hold of her forearms. He raised an eyebrow at the defiant look in her eyes.

"Of course, once you realized they were there," Sasuke smirked.

"I knew they were there! I was leading them into a trap!" She argued.

He scoffed. "And when one of the Akatsuki showed up? Madara perhaps? What was your plan for that?" he pressed.

She paused. "I- It's called improvising! Maybe you should try it." She lifted her chin a fraction. For a ninja, she was a horrible liar.

"Would you like to see what your improvising would have cost you?"

"Stop trying to threaten me, Sasuke. I really don't care." Sakura said, trying to turn away.

"Then you wouldn't be afraid to look into my eyes, would you?" He was baiting her, it was cruel, but with her stubbornness, nothing else would work. He hadn't forgotten their genin days.

The rebel inside of her visibly snapped. The moment their gazes met, the same visions he had showed Kiba began to swirl. Sakura's eyes widened. As they continued her lips trembled. "It's- it's just a jutsu!" She cried. "This wouldn't have happened to me!" Still he let them continue. Her shoulders began shaking, and tears streamed down her face. "Let go of me! _Let go of me!_" He released the genjutsu and the girl at the same moment.

She tore away from him, sobbing. "You lied! That would _not_ have happened. I would have- Would have-" She broke down.

As he watched her cry with her head in her hands, he felt guilty. Maybe he had taken it too far. But he had done it to show her what would have happened. She needed to understand that. "I've seen it, Sakura. Many times. With Madara involved, even you would not have lasted forever." He said softly.

She shook her head violently. "What is it you want from me? I wish you would just tell me! You don't want me around, you tell me you hate me, _you tried to kill me!_ So why do you care?"

Sasuke stared at her. "You're annoying."

She spun around. "How. Dare. You. Even. Think. That. Again. I- !"

"You _what _Sakura? Let's stop playing pretend, shall we? The truth is you can't deal with this. So what is it, huh? Is it the fact that you embarrassed yourself in front of me?" The memory of a midnight breeze tingled on his skin. He pushed it away.

"No!"

"Then is it because you still love me? Be honest. I'm sick of lies from this stupid village! So why, Sakura? Why does this bother you so much?" Sasuke stopped in shock. He had not planned to go off like this. It was this stupid, annoying woman.

"Because you tried to kill me! Because you hate me! Because I don't love you anymore! That's why! Why do you even care? Why? It's not like you ever did before. It's not like you ever will. That's why, Sasuke! And you were wrong; I'm not weaker than Naruto. Now I'm stronger than he is. I'm no longer blind to who you are!"

He stepped forward, not sure what he was going to do, but he felt that he had to do something. He opened his mouth, and closed it.

They were surrounded by ten ANBU. The one closest to him spoke first. "Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, you are under arrest."

**A/N: "Hateful, gossipy, little town, and I want no more of it," is a quote from Under the Greenwood Tree; which I do not own. Perhaps Sasuke's mother liked that movie and that is why he quoted it. Who knows? I hope you liked this chapter, I worked hard on it. PLEASE review. If it weren't for your encouragement and concrit, I wouldn't bother posting this. :) And I mean **_**yours**_**, not someone else's. If you don't review, then no one will.**


	4. Chapter 4: No Uncertain Terms

**A/N: This is me updating soon, or trying to. XD I still do not own Naruto, but I'm letting Itachi crash at my house since he was written out and as a result is now out of work. :P **

**No Uncertain Terms  
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Sasuke resisted the urge to give Sakura a withering look. The situation they were in was all her fault. Following that same line of thought, if he was to defend himself and 'accidentally' injure one of these fine, upstanding law enforcers, it would be _her_ fault. He smirked. Too bad Tsunade wouldn't buy it. Still, it would be worth planting more potatoes just to see her face…

Their hands were bound behind their backs and their chakra was sealed away: though that was only temporary and would wear off in a few hours. Thinking about it logically, he didn't feel like wasting his energy on an escape attempt when he would have taken Sakura back to the village anyway. At least they would be given an audience with 'Her Majesty' without having to pester her for it.

An ANBU shoved him into the Hokage's office. Sasuke stumbled on purpose, sweeping his left foot under the jerk's feet. Working to upright himself (Uchiha never fell on their faces), he smirked while waiting for the pleasant 'thump' the unintelligent man would make as he hit the floor. _Serves him right._

What he did not realize was that the officer had been about to shove Sakura in as well. For some reason, falling backwards threw off ANBU's aim. The effect of which was a petite pinkette crashing into an egotistical shinobi; who found her extra weight a…challenge, to uphold in his half-balanced condition.

The witch of a Hokage was tittering.

They were tangled up together, and neither of them could use their hands to fix this mess.

"While you are busy trying to 'untie the knot'," Tsunade chuckled at the pun, "Let's talk about the two of you tying it."

Sasuke jerked around to look at her and knocked his head against Sakura's. Ignoring the severe pain he was experiencing from her hard head, he focused completely on the Hokage. Even Sakura quit squirming. "There's nothing to talk about," he deadpanned.

The woman became serious. "Apparently, there is. You deliberately left the village without my permission. Is that not true?"

He could reply that Sakura had left it first. He could argue that wasn't the point. Either way, he would gain nothing from it. "I did."

Tsunade nodded. "Because of your actions, I've realized a mistake of mine. I apologize for making it. I should have not given you a notice. You should have been married in this office yesterday. This is a mistake I now must remedy -"

"Tsunade-sama, you don't mean…!" Sakura choked on her words.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Our marriage status has no bearing in this incident."

"But it does. You see, Sasuke, I know how you feel about your clan and their reputation. You would not allow any harm to come to either. I believe that if the two of you had been properly married, you would not have left this village." She sat back in her chair and folded her arms. One of these days _he_ was going to be the one smugly making the point while _she_ was forced to do his will. If only he had been elected to the new council….. _If only he hadn't left this stupid village._

Unfortunately for his ego (and contentment), she was right. He would not have left the village if that had happened because he would not have had to chase Sakura; she wouldn't have left either. Biting his tongue, which was somewhat painful, he looked away. _Witch_, he thought resentfully.

"Therefore, by the power invested in me as Hokage, I am ordering you, Haruno Sakura, and you, Uchiha Sasuke, to be married this day, the seventeenth of July, at this hour, four forty-five p.m." Her face was emotionless.

Sasuke managed to finally find his feet. He glared at the 'all powerful Hokage' and was about to assert his opinion on the matter when he saw Sakura's face tremble from the corner of his eye. And was that a…sob? Seriously? She was _crying_ about this? Obviously this wasn't the most pleasant thing, but _she_ was the one who had claimed she loved him. 'Always', wasn't that what she had said? So she shouldn't mind this so much; or at all, if you thought about it. In the irony that Sasuke was cursed with, she had gotten what she wanted, and it was making them both miserable.

It was going to disgrace his clan. But they were dead anyway. He was going to go against Itachi's wishes, but those had always made him miserable. He was doing what Sakura wanted, even though it went against his 'goals'. For some reason, he didn't care. This was absurd. It was just another display of the Hokage's brutal power, the power that was responsible for his clan's murder. Maybe that's why he was doing this.

"No. I will not marry her."

Sakura stopped mid-sob, and raised her head. She really did look ridiculous with her semi-red eyes and wild hair. He wondered if she had been faking the tears. It wouldn't surprise him if she had.

Tsunade stiffened. There was a ridged silence in which her pen dropped to the floor and Sakura sniffled. _"Excuse me?"_

"I will not make the same mistake my brother did. I will not do something just because the village commands it," he stated using the authoritative tone he had heard his father use as a child.

"You have no choice," she pointed out venomously. "Do you think I would let my student, who is more than a daughter to me, suffer through this if you did?" Her eyes were sharper than Orochimaru's kunai. Tsunade looked him over critically. "May I remind you, Uchiha, the only thing that kept you alive was Naruto's pleading and your DNA. The council may choose to overlook the pleading and your DNA is now in our custody."

His fists slammed down on the desk on their own accord. The stacks of papers jumped up in surprise. "You would _not_ comment an atrocity like that!" He yelled grinding his teeth. Using his DNA to create a new sharingan wielder was beneath even the murder of his clan.

The hazel eyed woman never blinked. "No, I wouldn't. But you are already aware of what the council will do. I have taken the previous actions that I have for the benefit of both you and my apprentice." She looked down at her hands then. "There are things at work here that neither of you could understand." She then looked up and plunged her way into his dark eyes defiantly. "Those are the terms."

He glared back just as hard. "If we do not agree, I will be killed and Sakura forced to carry my child. You call those _terms_?" He spat out.

"Unfortunately, yes. Those are your only options. Itachi knew this was probable. That is why he arranged you marriage."

"H-hokage-sama," Sakura began, her voice shaking. Sasuke was again reminded of her previous tears. Perhaps they had been real. "I-….I agree to those terms."

Behind the veil of his hair, Sasuke's eyes widened marginally. He frowned. She should not have agreed so easily. Surely if she despised this as much as she pretended, she would opt for raising the kid alone. But then with Uchiha history, perhaps she figured it would be best if he was there. Sasuke wasn't sure if he liked that or not.

"Uchiha?" The Hokage asked.

He paused a moment. There was something was bothering him. He need more protection against the council. After this, they would have everything they needed from him. He could not let another atrocity happen. "I want a seat on the council," he stated meeting his eyes defiantly.

"I assume you intend you use that position to protect your family?" She asked her eyebrows raised.

"Yes."

"But you are not allowed to sit on the council, Uchiha. You were a criminal, and for the safety of this village, I can not permit that; even for Sakura's benefit."

Sasuke had known she would say that. He said the only thing he could. "Then I choose Hatake Kakashi to sit for me, until my heir has proved their self worthy."

Tsunade frowned a moment in thought. Finally she said, "Kakashi would be a suitable edition to the council. He has also proved his loyalty to Konoha many times. Pending upon his agreement, I accept your condition."

"Then, I also…_agree_." He clenched his teeth together to keep from saying something stupid, or worse.

"Very well." She sighed. "I hate to do this, but as a precautionary measure, I will place a jutsu upon you that will not allow you to be more than thirty feet apart."

Sasuke frowned as she did so. This was wrong, very wrong. But there was nothing he could do. After it was completed, the bindings around their wrists fell away.

He watched guardedly as she pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. "Shizune!" She yelled. The woman entered. "Yes, Hokage-sama?" Tsunade announced solemnly, "You are hereby invited to witness the marriage of Haruno Sakura to Uchiha Sasuke." There was something seriously off about the world. Perhaps its orbit had been altered, because that sentence should never have been thought. Yet tightlipped, the assistant nodded. She obviously did not approve, but she said nothing.

The 'ceremony' was less than contemporary. The Witch merely waved her hand and said, "Sign here." Sasuke took the pen first; he was the man after all. He had to do the hard things first. With a flourish, his signature was forever engraved on her desk by the force of his writing. A tense silence hung over them as he handed the pen to his new 'wife'. Sakura took it with practiced control, like she being handed a scalpel, and signed her name. After which Shizune attested to the fact the marriage was legitimate by adding hers.

Tsunade looked up at them and flashed a fake smile. "It's done, then. You may still have a ceremony if you wish, but the marriage is official now." She paused awkwardly. "You may want to inform your family, Sakura."

The pinkette shook her head. "…I can't," she managed finally.

"They need to hear it from you, but I suppose it can wait until tomorrow," the Hokage sighed. "It's getting late, Uchiha, take your lovely bride home."

Only amazing amounts of self-control kept him from exploding at that moment. After counting to ten a hundred times, he pointed out, "We have no home to go to."

"Oh! Of course, how could I forget?" she reached down and opened a desk drawer. "This should suffice for now."

Sasuke took the key she offered reluctantly. After all he had been through today he did not need something worse to happen; like bringing Sakura to Naruto's and having to explain why he had. Wrapped around the key was a sliver of paper with a street address. He turned to the door; there was a rustle of cloth as Sakura joined him.

Sasuke lay looking up at the ceiling and cursing, by name, everyone who had put him in this position. When he ran out of persons even slightly responsible, he moved on to names he happened to remember. _Naruto, may the fleas in your bed bite you every night for not marrying her when you had the chance. Shino may your stupid bugs die for not making him._ There were worse curses, such as those he wished upon the council; and childish ones, like those he wished on Kakashi's dogs.

He really had no logical explanation for doing this, other than it kept him from thinking about other things. Like the fact he now had a wife. And that her name was Sakura. And that she had _pink_ hair. And the fact she was sleeping peacefully in the bed while he cursed people on the floor.

Coming 'home' had been awkward, and overall an experience never to be repeated. Ever. Realizing that Tsunade had given them a one bedroom apartment had changed his plans, since dumping her on the other side of the house was not possible. Even worse, there were pictures. Actually it was just _one_ picture, but that 'innocent' piece of paper cause more discomfort for him then he would care to admit. Because _of course_ the Witch would have to put the Team Seven photograph in the one spot it was always visible from _every angle in the room_.

Sasuke had immediately (as soon as Sakura had disappeared into the bedroom) flipped it over; much like he had the night he left the village. Sakura had said nothing, but when he turned his back the picture was back in place; which caused a wordless argument to arise which ended with Sasuke smashing the frame and Sakura slapping him and slamming the bedroom door. In retaliation he had thrown a vase at the door. Then he realized she had caused him to lose his temper, which almost never happened. Not since he had left the village anyway. He concluded it had happened because she was the only person in the universe that could unnerve him. That had cause him to smash more stuff, in turn causing Sakura to cry so hard he had heard her sobs in the kitchen.

Hours later he figured she had calmed down enough for him to slip by her and shower. That was when he had discovered her asleep on the small bed; forcing him to sleep on the floor.

He sighed. He tried going over tactics in his mind to help him relax, but that only increased his restlessness. What if Madara tried something? What if he was miserable and stuck on the floor the rest of his life?

Those were stupid questions and he tried to force them out of his head. Sasuke threw his arm across his eyes and moaned. This was so _stupid_. Why had he ever agreed to it? Finally, after lying awake until almost three a.m., he fell asleep.

_A man's form was outlined in mist. He was laughing. It had to be Orichimaru. Only he could laugh like that. "Do you really think you are strong enough to protect her? Do you think this miserable village will hide you? You know better than that, Sasuke. You know what is going to happen to her. You're only too attached to see it. What did I tell you about bonds, Sasuke? You remember… Bonds must be broken." _

_Sasuke could barely make out a wriggling form in the snake-man's grasp. The fog swirled slightly and he saw pink. _

"_Sakura!" His voice was suddenly hoarse. He heard her scream his name in return._

It was the scream that woke him.

He slowly realized that he held the kunochi firmly in his arms, with her back to his chest. It took him another second to comprehend the kunai and the seeping blood at her throat. She looked up at him with horrified, betrayed eyes.

Sasuke released his hold as if she were on fire.

Sakura remained frozen. After what seemed like a year, her mouth moved slightly, and following a few tries she choked out, "Why? Why do you want to kill me so much?"


	5. Chapter 5: Find Me Here

**Disclaimer: I've told you, I don't own Naruto. Somebody styled the characters. I guess I am responsible for their actions in this story. But that's all. **

**Find Me Here**

Sasuke stared into her liquid eyes. What could he say? It had been a simple reflex born of a life of danger and activated by her touch; as he assumed she had accidentally brushed against him in the darkness going to the bathroom or something.

He opened his mouth, but the words he needed would not come. He could not tell her about the nightmare, or Orochimaru, or that he was concerned about her safety and that was what had alarmed him. No, he could not tell her any of that. He couldn't even admit it to himself.

So he said. "You should know to be more careful, Sakura. It was a reflex, nothing more."

Something in her eyes changed the moment to words were spoken. Her mouth tightened, as did her clenched fist. He knew what she was thinking of. She was remembering all those other times, all the 'close calls' that had been his fault. He could see each one replaying in her pupils. "And before?" The flash in her apple green eyes was close to that of the Kirin.

"I didn't kill you. If I had wanted to, you would be dead." It was a dumb thing to say. He knew that. But she had started this little fight, so he was going to finish it. "What do you think would have happened if either Orochimaru or Madara realized I never tried to attack you? Do you really think they would have thought it was sweet?" he paused for dramatic effect. "No, they wouldn't have. They would have captured you at the first opportunity to use against me. Then I would have had no choice but to let you die. There would have been no strategic 'close calls'. So don't play the martyr with me, Sakura."

Her eyes widened and she stared at him. "You _staged _it!" She got up and glared at him as if he were some kind of animal. "Why?"

"To save your life!" Sasuke practically yelled at her.

"Since when did you even care!" She yelled back.

Sasuke paused. He didn't. Well, he didn't want her to die, but that was just because she was his ex-teammate. "You're right. Why should I?"

She launched a punch at him. Of course he caught it. This was insane, resorting to blows because of a nightmare. Sasuke didn't care to fight her, but not now, not _here_. Not like this. He knocked her out in the same manor he had the night she had tried to stop him from leaving the village. It seemed cruel, but there was nothing else to do. Sakura slumped against him, and he gently moved her back to the bed. He wasn't sure why he cared about her general welfare, but for some reason he did. That fact bothered him more than it should have.

The truth was Sasuke had been fighting all his life, and he was sick of it. But somehow, he couldn't seem to stop. Fighting Sakura would be a new low, however, because of who she had been to him. As genin, Sakura was always the innocent one, the one without scars. She had some now, because of him, but she still represented what was good with the world. If the Uchiha wanted to be honest, she was the only thing good with _his_ world. She was his only 'guiding light' and she hated him.

He couldn't blame her. He had almost killed her multiple times. Granted, he had had a purpose for it, but she couldn't have seen it. Sasuke didn't love her. He had barely spoken to her since he had come back.

He wanted to hate her as well, but there was something in her green eyes that wouldn't let him. Perhaps it was the innocence in her. Maybe he was just remembering that night when she said she loved him. Sakura had been the only person who had believed she meant it but for some stupid reason that had kept haunting him. Too much, it seemed; it had happened even when he had been with Orochimaru. The continual haunting he had endured had somehow altered his thinking. He had told her things she should have never known. But what was the good in hiding it from her now?

Sasuke felt restless. He couldn't leave the apartment because of the jutsu the Hokage had placed upon him. But he needed to do something. He had to clear his mind. The only thing he could do in here was pace, and doing so made the tension within him even worse.

The steel bands he had wrapped around his soul long ago were beginning to break; he was starting to fall apart. It was bound to happen sometime. After the time with Orochimaru, the death of Itachi, learning the truth behind the massacre, and all the lies Madara had fed him, he was due to lose his sanity. The marriage thing and dealing with a confused and scared Sakura had pushed him over the edge. But this wasn't the best time to be forced to confront the ghosts and demons he had tried for so long to bury.

A quiet knock on the door yanked Sasuke from the rest of his 'analysis' of the situation. He hastily checked the chakra signature outside of the door. If this was an attack, now wasn't exactly the best time.

However, it was just Kakashi. The man was leaning on the door frame when Sasuke opened the door. Instead of reading that orange book of his, it was tucked safely into his back pocket, so something was obviously bothering him. Sasuke saw the other man's fingers twitch, almost as if he had started to draw a kunai, and doubted either of them would find the visit very pleasant.

Without a sound, Kakashi walked into the room. The tenseness between them grew as Sasuke shut the door and waited for the lecture he was about to receive. The "old" man surveyed the broken glass and overturned furniture before picking his way over them to the window and up righting the cursed picture. A crack like a lightning bolt ran down the length of the glass, branching off over the sensei's face. Sasuke liked to say he didn't believe in "signs" like that, but after learning the truth of Itachi's motivations, he could no longer see anything as merely a coincidence. However, he had not intended to break the frame like that, and he knew it. Kakashi didn't.

"You appointed me as your representative to the council." The jounin stated. Well if that was all he wanted- "Why?"

"You know why. My _history_ won't allow me to sit on the council," he spat. It was not what Kakashi was really asking, but he had no desire to answer that question.

After tittering like an old maid over Sasuke's word choice, causing Sasuke to glare and growl, he asked, "Why did you wish to join the council, Sasuke?"

"I thought that was clear," he ground out. The other man was one of the few aware of the truth behind the massacre.

Kakashi sighed. "I've heard rumors, Sasuke. They say that you are about the business of getting married and entering into family life. If I am representing your family, I would like to know."

Sasuke was _really_ bothered by now. "What difference does it make!" he snapped. "Since when did you start paying attention to rumors?"

"Since they came from Hyuuga Neji." Kakashi was still facing the window. Outlined in the glow that came from the streets of Konoha, he looked incredibly old. "He came to me because these rumors have reached the Hyuuga Clan council and he was concerned about the actions his uncle might take. Because of this warning, I was at least semi-prepared for the accusations and demands Hiashi made. As it is, he demands that a marriage be arranged between your heir and his. Provided you are not already married, then the union would be between your child and whoever will succeed to the governing of the clan, at the time."

Sasuke exploded. Not literally, of course, but no way, no how was his child going to suffer through this nonsense because of some arrogant, power-hungry, deluded old man's fancy. And Sasuke would say that to his face.

When, an hour later, Kakashi calmed him down (so that he was only trembling with fury), the jounin explained, "I understand, Sasuke. But I don't believe you are in any position to go to war with them, now are you? That's why I need to know if the rumors are true, to what extent, why, and even how. I need to know everything, Sasuke." Kakashi up righted a chair and plopped down in it. "And I need to know now," he sighed.

"I'll make him regret it," Sasuke growled. "If he picks a fight with me he _will_ regret it."

"You are just one person. He has a whole clan," Kakashi spread his hands. "I have no doubt that you would live to make him regret his decision, but after that? And who would you drag into this _again_ Sasuke? Naruto? What about his friendship with Hinata and Neji?" Sasuke gave Kakashi a look at that one. "Oh alright maybe not so much friends with Neji; but Hinata sacrificed her life for him in the battle with Pein, Sasuke, I don't think he would turn on her. Even for you. So who else is there to help you win this fight? Me? I'm a Leaf shinobi, I will not have a civil war in this village for no other reason than your pride. I believe Sakura will feel the same way."

"Not now, Kaka-sensei," said a solemn voice. Sasuke looked over the other man's shoulder with surprise and Kakashi jerked around to see the speaker, ending up toppling his chair over. Sakura laughed. It was good that she was laughing at their old sensei, Sasuke supposed, eyeing her as she leaned against the bedroom door frame. But surely she recognized the importance of the conversation.

On the floor, Kakashi looked from Sakura to Sasuke and back again. He looked like Naruto trying to safeguard his ramen. "Sak- No!" He shouted glaring at Sasuke as "threateningly" as he could from the floor. "You did _not_ marry my only innocent student!" Then he gave up glaring and just covered his eyes as he sat up. "This is not happening." It was surprising how fast he could change from old-and-wise to immature-juvenile. There was something seriously wrong with him.

"We didn't have a choice." Sasuke murmured, doubting that Sakura would be able to explain, from the expression on her face.

"And I am not putting anyone else through this because of some old man's greed," she stated, the tilt of her chin and sparks in her eyes left no room for question. But Sasuke didn't miss how she avoided saying, "my child".

"I didn't think it was true," Kakashi whispered. He seemed dazed. Sure it was a shock, but it wasn't like they had just admitted their undying love for each other, and his stupefied expression bothered Sasuke, like the sting of onions to his eyes. Then the moment of shock passed and Kakashi looked to Sakura. "Are you…um…"

Sasuke really, _really _wanted to strangle him. _"No," _he ground out.

Kakashi had the decency to cough and look embarrassed. _Well, he better, _Sasuke decided. The nerve that took to even suggest such a thing was astounding. But what else could he be expect from his perverted old sensei? Still, if he asked again, Sasuke would feel obliged to remove his ability to ask again. "Ah…well then, I suppose we could…um…work out an agreement with Hiashi. Perhaps we could, hmm. That might work…"

The new couple's eyes narrowed at the same instant. "What might work?" Sakura demanded.

"Well, if Hinata gave up the title to Neji, then we might be able to work with him. He has been very helpful in this matter in the past." The old man looked smug.

Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes. All that trash he had been reading for years must have rotted his brain. "That can't happen. Neji is not a main branch member." His tone clearly betrayed what he thought of his ex-teacher's intelligence.

Kakashi got to his feet and gave Sasuke a sad look. "You have much to learn, Sasuke-kun. But perhaps you need to consider the priorities here, like discovering who the mole is that began these rumors and protecting Sakura from Madara." He looked out the window again for a long pause before continuing. "Somehow I do not believe it will be long before you hear from him." He turned back to meet Sasuke's eyes, "I doubt you will like to hear the message."

There was nothing to say to that. The two of them watched in silence as the silver-haired ninja left without ceremony. After a pause, Sakura retreated back into the bedroom and shut the door. It was only then Sasuke walked over to the window. He frowned and unconsciously trailed his index finger down the lightning bolt crack in the photo that had somehow managed to worm its way into his life over and over again. What had he done to make his life turn out to be so very, very wrong?

He knew the answer, but he could not bring himself to even form it into a thought.

Somehow he doubted he would sleep anymore tonight. Or for a very, very long time.

**Review? _Please?_ *makes Sasuke give puppy-dog eyes***


	6. Chapter 6: Be Happy

**A/N: So I'm back. There are a lot of people who deserve credit for making this happen: first off, the readers, without whom I wouldn't bother; secondly, Sakura 8D for betaing this for me; and finally, hirokiri9 (to who this is dedicated) for inspiring me and putting me "back on track" of where I wanted to be. Thank you all for sticking with me. **

**I hope you enjoy the chapter, and obviously I do not own Naruto. Isn't that the point of _fan_fiction?**

**Be Happy**

Sasuke would have remained by the window for the rest of his life. He really wouldn't have minded it, now anyway; funny how just two days ago living with Naruto and planting potatoes seemed like torture. He despised himself for that. He had gotten soft during his time in Konoha. Well, he always had. He should have known better. Maybe then he wouldn't be in this mess. The council couldn't expect Sakura to marry a criminal, could they?

The council could do anything they wanted.

He knew that. Still, there had to be a way out of this short of ruining the life of a possible future child. Logically there was a loophole to everything; Itachi had proved that, you just had to find it.

But right now, Sasuke was drawing a complete blank.

This meant that any future he could envision would be appalling. Sasuke had had enough of appalling for the whole village. Literally. So he would have been cool with spending the rest of his life sitting by the window in the dark. He didn't feel like doing anything else.

Apparently Sakura felt the same way about hiding away in the bedroom.

A week went by, that was all they did. Sasuke didn't eat, he barely slept. At night, he would slip into Sakura's room while she pretended to be asleep and leave her food. He wasn't sure why. He guessed that it was his subconscious apology for all he had put her through. Maybe it was his way of showing he did care if she lived or died. Either way, the food was never there the next night, so he assumed she ate it.

Surprisingly, no one came to visit. No Dobe showed up outside angry and demanding answers. The Hokage was either too "busy" or too ashamed to check on their "well being". And Kakashi had disappeared. Sasuke had expected him to come back the next day to discuss the politics he was facing from the village clans. But an entire week went by, and not so much as a chakra signature approached the apartment.

He began to catch on to what was going on. They were giving the two their space so that eventually, he and Sakura would have to talk this out. Typical of the village, he supposed. That was fine, he preferred it that way, but their little "plan" wasn't going to work.

Sasuke spent his time thinking. He never reached a conclusion on a plan of action, and sometimes he wasn't sure what he was even thinking about. Most of the time though, he was reliving old memories that answered the question, how did everything go wrong?

The ultimate answer: he was Uchiha.

He wasn't entirely sure what Sakura did throughout the week, but assumed she spent it much the same way he did. He wondered if she got anywhere with _her_ thoughts.

Sasuke had dozed off leaning against the window frame when he _finally_ felt a sign of life outside the door. Not too surprisingly, it was Kakashi who banged the door open causing him to jerk and hit his head against the corner.

The Uchiha bit back what he felt like saying at the moment, instead choosing to ask: "Well, did your plan work?" Even though the question was neutral, his tone was snide.

Kakashi looked him over critically, and he wondered if this was going to be a new habit for his old sensei. "Sakura," he called. "Would you come out here, please?"

Sasuke scowled at being ignored. But before he could say anything he might regret, Sakura cracked the door open. "Kakashi-sensei?"

Sasuke shifted with unease when the man smiled. "Good. We're all here. Now, let's get down to business-"

"It's four in the morning!" Sakura protested.

Kakashi simply raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't look like you guys were trying to sleep anyway," he observed.

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do you want?"

The jounin motioned to the apartment, which no one had cleaned up yet, and sat down in the same chair as last time. "Please have a seat."

The "couple" exchanged a look, but did as he asked, pulling various pieces of furniture off the floor. Sakura sat on an ottoman, while Sasuke found another chair like the one Kakashi had. Neither one wanted to initiate the conversation.

"How long has it been since you ate, Sasuke?" The question was encased in a conversational tone, but Sasuke felt the sharp point of it anyway.

"That has nothing to do with why you're here."

"But it does," Kakashi responded with a sad sort-of smile. "Sakura, what about you; how long has it been since _you_ have eaten?"

Sasuke glanced over at the pinkette. She had eaten, he had thought, she would tell them so and get their "sensei" off their case. To his surprise, she bowed her head. "I…I have not been hungry, sensei."

Sasuke scowled. He had to do something fast to end this. He didn't want _Kakashi_ getting into his personal life.

"Neither of you have slept very well, your chakra is nonexistent, you haven't eaten in a week… Something is going to have to give." The silver-haired, and therefore wise, man paused to sigh. "If Madara attacked now, it wouldn't even be a contest between you. I know this is a difficult situation, but you are my students, and you are accustomed to such. It's been a week now; you have had time to comprehend your situation. Now move on."

A week ago Sasuke would have yelled at him. He would have told him that he could not possibly understand what it was like to be put in such a situation, as if you weren't even human; just some animal to be bred. Sasuke wasn't sure what Sakura's reaction would have been, he was sure it would have been more violent than a sigh and, "How?" But they were both exhausted and tired of fighting.

Kakashi looked away for a moment. "Both of you know that as long as you are alive, life goes on; despite whatever happens. As long as life goes on, you have to live through it. I'm not asking you to _like_ the situation you're in; I'm asking you to _get through_ the situation. To preserve. That is all."

Sasuke knew it was true. He had experienced that truth every day of his life since the massacre. He was tired of having to "get through" every day, but he wasn't ready to die yet. Not yet.

A small sigh from beside him reached his ears, and he knew Sakura felt the same.

So did Kakashi. "Well, now that that's over, how about a nice meal?" They both stared at him in disgust and disbelief. "On me, of course." He added at their pointed expressions.

"Not ramen." Sasuke demanded, but in his way, was giving his consent.

"Of course not, I was thinking something with a little more rice…"

* * *

><p>They were sitting in some food tent that Kakashi had chosen waiting on their orders to arrive when Sasuke's ears began to ring from the unearthly sound being radiated from behind him.<p>

"_Fooorehead!_" And he knew, instantly, who _that_ voice belonged too. He wished it was Naruto, Lee, or _anyone_ other than her; especially now. "I _finally_ found you! Where have you been?"

For some reason, Sakura seemed to perk up. Sasuke frowned. Things had certainly changed with her since he'd been gone. "Pig! I've been on a mission. Unlike you, I pull my own weight around here." Sasuke inwardly winced. Why did she have to say _that_? He had been through quite enough this week without having a cat fight on his hands. Well, one that he had to "care" about.

Instead of yelling some other insulting nonsense at Sakura, however, Ino just grinned. "Unlike you, someone actually wanted to marry _me_. It's not my fault I have to make sure he doesn't get himself killed."

He watched carefully as Sakura tried to hide her reaction to that. Ino didn't notice it (if she had she would have said so), but Sasuke knew everyone of Sakura's emotions just by looking at her face. He always had. There was hurt, anger, sadness, and a hint of jealousy. He scowled. For some reason, that bothered him.

"Right. Konoha just can't spare me, Ino-pig." Sakura smirked. "But they sure got rid of you in a hurry."

"Hey!" Ino protested. Sasuke was pretty sure she was about to say something even more biting, but Kakashi jumped in.

"How is Sai, Ino?" he asked maneuvering his napkin around with a little too much force.

Sasuke blinked. Sai? Wasn't that the name of his replacement? Naruto had blubbered about him a lot, but Sasuke had paid little attention. He didn't particularly care for the guy (okay, he hated him), despite his ability as a ninja. It had hurt him, however much he didn't want to admit it, that they had replaced him. Being a naive brat, he had imagined when he was twelve that after Itachi was dead he would come back and everything would be like it had been. He knew the consequences for leaving the village, but he also knew what the sharingan meant to it, and what the Dobe, and Kakashi, would do to get him back. On the day "Sai" had attacked him in Orochimaru's lair, that fantasy had burned. That was why he hated him so much. Sakura had even said she loved him, and yet that traitor had replaced him within three years.

"H-he's fine." Her voice dropped and Sasuke got the feeling she didn't want to talk about it. "He's over there. We were just heading home."

"Oh, I see," Kakashi smiled. "I won't keep you then. Tell him to meet us at the training grounds tomorrow."

She nodded. "I'll a- I'll see you guys later. We'll have to get together soon, Forehead." Before Sakura could give a polite excuse, Ino had walked away.

Sasuke frowned. "What's her deal?" It was possible, although unlikely, that she was working for Madara. If there was any reasonably chance that she was, he wanted to know about it.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them. Kakashi was going to let Sakura answer this one, he could tell; he was just waiting for her to give in and do so. After a moment, she did.

"It's- Well no one knows this outside of Ino, Sai, Kaka-sensei, and I. So please don't mention it- Uh, not that you would. Sai, worked for Danzo. Because of that he doesn't feel emotions. After joining Team Kakashi, well, mostly after hearing and seeing Naruto's- our- bond to you, he wanted to belong to the new team as much as you had belonged to Team Seven. So, he checked out books from the library on socializing. It was kinda funny, he called Ino 'beautiful woman' because he thought that people wanted to hear lies about themselves..."

Sakura stopped for a breath and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Uh, anyway, he flattered Ino a lot. And he reminded her of you... Um, so after a while, she developed this crush on Shikamaru. But he's been hanging out with Temari, you remember her from the chunin exams I'm sure, for a while and when she comes to town he's her 'escort'. Ino was literally green with jealousy. She decided that the only way to get him back was to make him jealous as well. The only person she could think of that would work for that kind of job was Sai. So they pretended to 'date' for a while."

Sakura sighed. "It's pretty sad, actually. Sai just went along with it because he didn't know any better. Ino was too stubborn to be talked out of it. When Shikamaru didn't respond, Ino decided to take it a step further. She told him she was engaged to Sai. Ino was convinced that he was just trying to hide it. That was why she even went to the ceremony."

Here Sakura scoffed softly. "She actually believed that Shikamaru would storm the building and proclaim his undying love for her. When he didn't, she came out married." Sakura looked down. "She pretends she loves him, she has too much pride to do anything else, and that's the only reason their marriage has worked. Sai has tried his best to make things better, but he still cannot understand emotions like he needs to. Kakashi-sensei only knows about it because Sai has come to him for advice."

There was a long silence between them. Sai's situation was much like his in ways, Sasuke reflected. He wasn't sure if that made him hate the guy even more, or if he identified with him more. Then he remembered that Sai had tried to make it "better". Sasuke clenched his fist. He felt condemned for his behavior towards Sakura. He hadn't tried to make things better for her. He hadn't even _cared_ to try.

"Well," Kakashi said breaking everyone's reverie, "you should get some sleep. I expect you both at the training grounds bright and early. And while you're at it, try not to look like the living dead." The jounin left some money on the table as he got up.

Sasuke watched him walk away. "You didn't even have a chance to say no," the words were out of his mouth before he realized it. He blamed it on his exhaustion; regardless, he still didn't feel like sleeping. Something about that story had shaken him up somehow.

Sakura looked up in surprise. "I-" she paused for a minute. "Neither did you."

He met her eyes. He was never able to put a name on it, but something passed between them at that moment. It was a silent agreement of sorts; it was realizing the other was not the enemy.

For the first time, the idea entered his mind that this might actually work out before he quickly shoved it away.

Still, their relationship had changed, whether they realized it or not.

**So the new, wonderful review box is calling out to be filled. You know you want too….**


	7. Chapter 7: Sai's Fairy Godmother

**A/N: Yes, as you can guess, my life just got a lot busier. I can't change that so I won't apologize, but I will promise to do my best to work around it. In the mean time, here's a little present. **

Morning had been Sasuke's favorite time of day when he was a kid...until that morning he saw the carnage of unmentionable tortures that Itachi had subjected on his family** -**t hings he could not think about even now. Yet ironically, when the nightmares began and after those awful nights in Orochimaru's possession,dawn had become his savoir. The only thing he could rely on was the sun coming up everyday; that is, if he was still alive to see it.

But since he was supposed to be in a "happy" frame of mind, he should dwell on the fact that morning brought him a sense of peace and comfort instead of all the horrible things he had seen and lived through in his short seventeen years.

And this morning he would have to pretend nothing that frightened him was currently happening. Not that he would _ever_ admit that he was scared to death...

But he was. Something about the events of the past week was bigger and more powerful than he was. Sasuke guessed it was called Fate. And even Uchiha respected Fate. But he also had a responsibility now; to someone other than himself or his dead clan. If he made one wrong decision it could cost Sakura (among others) her life.

Having time to think in the place where Team Seven had made so many memories also made him recall and regret certain things…like his behavior to certain people who had proved they truly cared about him, even when he tried to push them away in the worst of ways.

Basically he was a brooding, angst-y mess. Again.

The fact that Sakura apparently happened to be as well validated him a bit though.

Thankfully, Kakashi was punctual for the first time in his life. "Good morning, students," he smiled. And suddenly, all of the memories and burdens were gone, and they were twelve-year-old wannabe ninjas again. All the years seemed to fade away and they were still"innocent", although wiser.

When Naruto showed up (after three hours), everything was complete. By the time they began warming up it was certain that they were the old "Team Seven" today. Sasuke should have rolled his eyes and called them idiots. Yet after the experience of the past few days, he welcomed the game. It was like playing pretend when you were a kid: you could be anything you wanted to be.

Right now, he needed that.

Training began promptly with Kakashi patronizing them like they were academy students. "To pass the test, you must capture one of these," he held up two bells, "before time runs out. Anyone who does not get a bell does not eat lunch-"

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto groaned. "We _know_ this! Can we just get on with it already? I mean, Teme's already demonstrated how he can beat you blindfolded, and since _I'm_ the only one who can beat _him, _you're toast. I-"

"Excuse me?" Sakura protested.

"And since Sakura-chan's the scariest person since Granny Tsunade, _she'll_ get a bell." Naruto continued unfazed. "Plus Teme has a crush on her, so he'll make sure she'll get one." Sasuke brought his fist down on the Dobe's head. "See?" Naruto _still_ continued. (Just how thick _was_ his skull anyway?) "And since we already _know _that he's going to feed me after you guys tie me to a stump, what's the _point_?"

Kakashi held up a finger and Sasuke lost all hope that they were ever going to stop talking. "Firstly, the only time you have ever caught a bell you cheated; secondly, since you feel that way, this test will be limited to taijutsu _only; _and thirdly, you have yet to prove that you have surpassed your sensei. Now, any questions?" No one said anything, much to Sasuke's relief. "Good. Now go." And with a "poof" he was gone.

Sakura immediately began yelling at Naruto for his_ clear_ stupidity as there was "obviously no way any of [them] were going to get a bell by using only taijutsu". When the Dobe just shrugged, she resorted to blows.

Still, it was insulting that his wife underestimated him. Honestly, what was wrong with these people? Did they honestly think that he could spend three years with Orochimaru and _not _be able to capture some stupid bell? So when Sasuke did just that within the first twenty minutes, he felt justified, somewhat. To expect him not to be smug was asking too much. It was the natural reaction to winning a lively game. The fact the Sakura looked somewhat stunned didn't hurt any. He scoffed at her. That was basic taijutsu, nothing more. He had gone through much harder moves when he fought Itachi.

"Very nice, Sasuke. I have been the only one to obtain a bell without cheating. It is quite an accomplishment." Sai one line took all of the "magic" out of the moment. Being compared to his replacement in any way was an insult. He shouldn't have been invited. It wasn't like he was wanted here.

But Kakashi just it off insult. "You're quite right, Sai. Well now, children, it's time to get down to business. Sakura, you and Naruto go at it while I supervise Sasuke-kun and Sai." It was only dignity that kept Sasuke from arguing like Naruto. He would rather put up with the Dobe than this plastic "human". Still, their sensei didn't relent even when Naruto started yelling. Instead he settled the matter by saying, "The Master has spoken."

Sasuke snorted as he walked over to the other side of the grounds.

He took out his frustration on his opponent. Yet Sai evenly matched every move he made. Even angrier now, Sasuke varied the attacks, difficulty, and techniques; and still he didn't give an inch. In the long, bloody battle that followed, all of the resentment that the Uchiha had stored up over the years found a vent. The other man still remained unaffected. It was like he didn't even care about the fight.

Sai tried at various times to start a conversation, but Sasuke wasn't in the mood and attacked quickly so there was no time to pursue a topic further. Finally, after many bloody cuts and bruises, the guy seemed to get the point. Or so Sasuke had thought.

"You know, we are not so different from each other."

Startled, Sasuke froze.

Sai also stopped fighting once he was sure he had the Uchiha's attention. "You want to love her, don't you? But you can't. I can't either. We are alike. Neither of us can feel emotion. You at least have the possibility of loving her. I do not. Do not let her go through with this just because of duty. Even I can regret."

Every word caused a new bruise on Sasuke's heart, but it also helped to awaken some things that he didn't want to deal with right now. "We are nothing alike. You have know idea what I've had to do. Don't talk to me about regret."

Sai laughed, somehow even this was void of emotion. "We are more alike than you know."

Something in Sasuke snapped. He studied Sai with new eyes. "You _want_ to feel emotion. You wanted my friends, you…you want my life don't you?"

The guy shook his head. "No, I don't want _your_ life, Uchiha. I want mine back, even with all the pain. You are an arrogant fool, you have no idea what blessings you still posses."

Sasuke took in a sharp breath. He remembered the jutsu Danzo had performed to alter reality,and as his mind was working the details out, he spat, "_You_ are arrogant. You really think that you could do better than me. Fine." It was his intention to teach this jerk a lesson by giving him what he wanted. Let him have his emotions and he would learn that not everything could be overcome by logic. **  
><strong>

Although he was running low on charka, he activated Itachi's sharigan anyway. No one called him foolish and got away with it.

The next few moments were filled with pain and blood; Sasuke blacked out after a point, he just hoped it was enough to allow the jutsu to take affect. When he came too, everyone was standing around him. He ignored the indignity of it, thanks to his malicious joy in the change he hoped to have worked.

"That was a really stupid thing to do, Sasuke, you passed out from a mild case of chakra depletion," Sakura said sharply. He knew she really didn't care about him, she was just fulfilling her role of medic.

"Hn."

"Thank you, Sasuke, for your gift, I feel…confused. But I feel. Thank you." Sasuke ignored his replacement's gratitude. He would be cursing Sasuke's "gift" soon enough.

Kakashi quietly told the guy to go home.

After jokes from Naruto about Sakura's "concern", Kakashi told Sasuke the same thing. "Sakura why don't you look after our little philanthropist, eh?" He added for Naruto's benefit. It was then that Sasuke remembered the jutsu Tsunade had placed on them. Sakura must have been drawn back over to him because of it. He wondered why he hadn't noticed or what she had told Naruto already.

Sasuke tried to stop thinking about it, and was sufficiently distracted when he had to allow Sakura to slip her head under his arm. They walked "home" in silence. There was too much to think about that neither wanted to share. Sakura appeared stunned, and Sasuke was brooding again.

"It was kind of you to do something like that for him," she whispered. Then he finally got it. She was impressed by what seemed to be his sacrifice. Well, she was wrong, it wasn't nice, it was the meanest thing he could have done; she just didn't realize it yet.**  
><strong>

"Was it?"

"Yes, he's wanted that for a long time. It was his dream." Sakura's pink lashes fluttered.

"Hn." Was all Sasuke said in reply. Truthfully, he had done it out of spite. Sai had forgotten what was to have emotions. Loving Ino might prove harder _with _them than without.

"You're not modest, so stop pretending to be. Just...why did you risk you life for his dream?"

Sasuke had risked his life rashly out of anger to prove a point. "He deserved it."

Now Sai would know just what it was to have to sacrifice; to have to hate yourself for things that you had done… That was why Sasuke had given Sai his emotions back. Now he would see what it was to be married to someone you did not love. Now that he had the opportunity of loving Ino they would see what he made of it. Now _he_ would know what it was to truly be human.

_..."We are more alike than you know."  
><em>

It wasn't true. They were nothing alike.

**If you review it will motivate me to keep my aforementioned promise. There's the box, calling for you, calling, calling, calling...**


	8. Chapter 8: The Wrong Side of the Bed

**This was supposed to be finished last month. But I'm hoping it's at least a bit longer than normal. There was going to be a "bonus", but I got stuck and tired, so that didn't happen. Sorry. I hope to update before Thanksgiving, but in case something else happens, I'll tell you Happy Thanksgiving now. I really, really love to read your reviews, so thank you for taking the time to submit them. **

**Important Note: Last chapter some things changed that you might not have thought about yet, so I'll just bring them to your attention now. Since Sasuke 'altered reality' things are going to be slightly different. Mainly, I want to bring out the fact that he may have subconsciously alliterated things to fit his point of view. If something seems strange or out of sync, this might be why. Things he might have changed may even include himself. Keep this in mind. **

**I will shut up now, happy reading! :P**

"_Otosan, Otosan!" screamed a boy's voice. "Look, look!" Sasuke barely had time to catch the flying child "missile" before it mowed him over._

"_What, Katashi?" He asked when the breath _finally_ returned to his lungs. _

"_I passed! I _passed_!" The kid screamed in his ear. _

_Sasuke cocked his head to the side, playing dumb. "And what is it you have passed?" _

_Katashi shoved him away and hopped down. "You know what." The boy was glaring at him now. _

"_I really can't think of what could be so important that you almost kill your father delivering your news." Sasuke cocked an eyebrow and turned to his wife. "Can you, Sakura?" _

_She pursed her lips and placed a delicate finger on the side of her jaw. "Maybe, but it's just not coming to mind right now."_

_Katashi glowered. "Stop it, you two are being childish," he mumbled as he shoved past him into the house. _

_Only then did Sasuke let the proud grin overtake his face. He picked up Sakura and swung her around. She squealed gleefully. "He did it. He surpassed _Itachi._ My son passed the chunin exams as a rookie," he whispered in her ear as he waited for the momentary dizziness to pass. _

_The pinkette wrapped her arms around his neck. "And is that such a surprise?" she giggled, "You would have too, if Orochimaru hadn't interfered."_

"_Is that so?" he asked his voice deep. _

"_Of course. If you hadn't, I would have done it for you." Sakura raised her chin playfully. _

"_Modest, aren't we?"_

"_Not really, I just loved you that much." Her eyes were so, so green. _

_He couldn't resist as he leaned in for a kiss-_

That was when Sasuke woke up to a very horrifying revelation- he had been dreaming of kissing Sakura; or wanting too rather. Either way it didn't matter. It was disgusting any way you looked at it.

Sasuke closed his eyes and rested his arm over them. The dream- his happy life with Sakura and their son- played through his mind again. It had seemed so real. Exactly like he would have imagined it to be when he was younger- except he would never have imagined it with Sakura. It must have been the current stress regarding their situation that had prompted his subconscious to put her in the dream. Still, when he took time to think about it, who else was there? If he could have provided an answer to that, this wouldn't be happening now. He could have simply married someone else.

This was a very dangerous and unprofitable train of thought. So in an attempt to get that stupid dream out of his head, Sasuke opened his eyes again and studied the wall. It was white. He hated white. Perhaps he should give Sakura the money to redo the place. That would give her something to do, and maybe it would even make her happy. Women liked those kinds of things didn't they? He would tell her later.

Right now he had more important things to do: like stretching the cramps out of his sore muscles and showering. Then he could hunt up the Dobe or something. He couldn't believe he had just considered that.

With a silent groan, Sasuke pushed himself up onto his elbows-

-and became very aware of something heavy, soft, and ticklish sliding down towards his abdomen. He froze. Sakura's head was lolling on his torso. His _bare _torso. Sasuke swallowed. The sun was now shining on her face and her nose twitched in response. She flopped an arm over her eyes; the other stretched out over his shoulder. Sasuke was now completely unsure of how to respond. If he woke her, she might get the wrong idea, or it would just be very awkward. Not that it wasn't already, but still. If he tried to move, she'd wake up. Sasuke settled for hissing at her.

Sakura moaned and moved her arm, like she was searching for the bed. A second later, she tensed. She felt his shoulder, then his ear, and just because she couldn't be satisfied with that she felt her way around to his nose and mouth.

"_Sakura,"_ he growled.

Her eyes flashed open. They sat like that for an immeasurable amount of time. Sakura's eyes were as green as they had been in his dream. Neither of them could look away. Sasuke told himself he shouldn't have too. He was the man, and therefore the dominant member of this "relationship". Sakura should have to look away first. Suddenly her eyes widened and she squealed like a pig before closing her eyes again and tearing out of the room, probably to hide under the furniture in the living room- all without opening her eyes.

Sasuke blinked. He raked his hand through his hair as he wondered what she had even been doing there. He came to the conclusion that it would be better just to forget about this little incident.

Obviously, that was easier said than done. He ended up going through all of the hand seals and combat moves the whole time he was in the shower, and even then it was always in the back of his mind.

Sasuke was feeling rather lightheaded and slightly nauseous. Apparently he was suffering from chakra depletion, which meant that if he'd collapsed after training, he'd slept for almost twenty-four hours. He frowned.

The warm water turned cold, and he had yet to push the episode from earlier out of his mind. He didn't feel anymore in control of the situation than when he had turned the water on. In fact, he felt more nauseous and defeated than when he'd started.

Sasuke did manage to get his clothes on before losing the only meal he'd had in a week at just the moment someone- obviously Sakura- knocked on the door. Sasuke attempted a grunt. He tried to tell her to go away, to leave him alone and go back to whatever the crap she had been doing before. It came out as a retch and a moan. All he wanted was for her to leave him alone. But of course that was impossible. She had to storm in the bathroom and turn into some nanny-doctor-hybird freak. Of course she did.

Sakura slipped her arm around his waist as he slumped back against the wall, while babbling to him like he was a child or a dog. "Relax, breathe, breathe, _good_. Relax." How on earth he was supposed to "relax" with her hanging off him, he didn't know. "Come on, Sasuke, let's walk back to the bed and let you lay down. You really should know better than to over do things like this."

Sasuke shoved her off. He didn't miss the horrible hurt look on her face while he glared at her. He told himself he didn't care, because he didn't. "What is wrong with you?" he ground out. She blinked. Sakura actually had the nerve to stand there and act like she had _no_ idea what he was talking about. Sasuke rolled his eyes mockingly. "_You_ were the one clinging to me this morning. You're the one who acted like I attacked you, and now you're in here playing my nursemaid? Just-"

"Just leave you alone? Is that what you want? Well I'm glad you finally told me! I thought you wanted things like friends and teammates." Sakura laughed mockingly. "I should have figured you out sooner. Too bad I made the mistake of thinking you were still human."

He lunged to grab her arm before she could leave. "You can't go anywhere, Sakura, thanks to your wonderful teacher." He yanked her to him. "Stop fooling yourself. You don't have a choice in this; you're stuck with me, so you might as well get over yourself," Sasuke hissed in her ear.

She yanked her arm out of his grip like he was burning her. "What is it you want, Sasuke?" Sakura shoved him back against the wall. "What do you want from me?" She yelled.

"What is it _you_ want?" He yelled back.

She paused. He saw it in her eyes, she wanted the dream, his dream. She wanted the perfect little family, wanted him to love her, wanted all the things the part of him still remembered; all things he couldn't give. To her credit, she didn't say any of those things. She met his eyes and challenged, "Since when does it matter what I want?"

"You apparently want something, to assault me in my sleep." It was below the belt, he knew it, but it came out before he could stop himself. His defense mechanism was kicking in, and he would hurt her beyond apology- just like he always did.

She turned still and completely red. "I hate you." Sakura hissed.

Sasuke froze. He looked at her then, really looked at her. She was a mess. Her hair was writhing around her head like Medusa's snakes; her face was dirty and drawn so you could see the outline of her skull underneath, and she was still wearing yesterday's clothes. He inhaled slowly. Sasuke was completely chakra deprived, but he knew if he had been able to check, he would find that Sakura was as well. Something knotted and clenched in his stomach. He didn't want to name it, but if he had, it might be guilt, regret, or some other form of self-loathing.

Sakura looked like she wanted to walk out on him, to just forget it all. He couldn't blame her. He should say something, apologize even. He should stop her somehow.

He let her go, not only could he do nothing, but he owed her that. He owed her more than that, but he couldn't give her what she wanted. Sakura deserved an apology, but "I'm sorry" ( even if it did come from the Uchiha who never apologized) wouldn't cover it. So he did nothing.

Thanks to his stupid mistake yesterday (he assumed it was yesterday) his "normal" headache was even worse and he was beginning to feel nauseous again. Sasuke allowed himself to slide down the tiled wall. His life just kept getting better.

Some unmeasured amount of time later, Sasuke heard banging on the door. It was then he remembered that this was the only bathroom in the apartment and Sakura might need to utilize it. So he pulled himself up with what was left of his will power, and stumbled out the door.

"Well, well, brat. Didn't Orochimaru teach you how to _not_ get hammered? Tch. I really don't care. But I do care how you treat my girl. I've given you guys a week. And what have you done with it? Get drunk?"

Sasuke hissed as the Hokage's voice exploded in his ears. "Witch," he hissed under his breath.

The vulgar woman whomped him on the head, making his whole system go haywire, _again_. He lost his sense of balance and found himself tipping forward. "Brat. Careful," the Hokage ordered, catching him as he fell. For the first time, Sasuke was glad he couldn't see, because this view wasn't one he wanted to remember. "Put him on the bed Sakura. Let's take a look at him," she ordered, totally oblivious to how awkward this was, or maybe she just didn't care. Sasuke's vision kept swimming. He felt a small arm wrap around his waist and lift him off the Hokage. Sakura guided him to the bed, which he collapsed on the moment he touched it.

Tsunade began poking and prodding him roughly. Sasuke growled when she took over his chakra system. "Uh-huh. Severe chakra depletion, and- _oh_," she said meaningfully. "I see what you mean here, Sakura."

"What?" Sasuke grunted out between clenched teeth.

"Hush, punk, I'm working."

_Witch._

"There. That should do it," Tsunade declared finally ending her torture session. "Now, Sakura, since we've assured that your husband's not going to die from his own stupidity, let's discuss your children."

Sasuke choked on his own spit.

"Tch. Honestly, brat, stop acting so childish."

Sasuke's head was swimming. He was about to vomit again, and had a headache the size of Naruto's stomach; he did not need _this_. "Get out, _now_," he managed to hiss. "Neither of us wants to discuss that right now." He was speaking for Sakura, not a good idea, but she already hated him. He had nothing to lose. "We need to rest, not brood for another week trapped in this hole." The "we" came out so naturally he got the feeling he should be concerned.

"I was only going to say that the council agreed to abide by my plan," Tsunade stated in her Hokage voice. "They will give you the agreed upon year to produce the heir. After that, I'm not sure what is going to happen. So now that you are aware of the state of things, brat, have fun going blind."

She left the room and Sakura walked her to the door. "Hang in there, girl," he heard the Witch say, "He'll come around. I can tell." Sakura murmured something Sasuke couldn't hear before the door slammed shut.

He fully expected to stay there alone for the rest of the day- week even. Not that the mighty Uchiha cared. He didn't. Or so he told himself as he closed his burning eyes and thought about sleeping. He really didn't want to; thanks to his recent dreams, sleep wasn't exactly his friend, so Sasuke decided to simply rest his eyes.

The problem with not sleeping was the rampage of his thoughts; such as the annoying problem of what he should say to Sakura. His conscience told him he should do something. His pride told him to forget it. But it also whispered that he must make her love him again; for his ego's sake. A wife wasn't supposed to hate her husband. If the clan was still alive, such a thing would have shamed him in their eyes. Of course, this wasn't exactly a traditional marriage- obviously. But with Sakura, for her to hate him- she must love someone else. That was the only explanation. She would never have given up on him otherwise.

The question was: who?

Sasuke really didn't want to know- didn't want to go there. He didn't need Sakura, didn't need her to love him, and didn't care who she loved.

The dream pushed its way forward into his memory again. A happy family, peace, trust- he needed those things. Sasuke could deny it no longer.

He needed the dream.

His lungs filled themselves with air and he had almost released it in a silent sigh when he heard the door open. Sasuke held his breath. Quiet footsteps made their way to the bed. He tensed. Unsure of what exactly he was waiting for, the Uchiha prepared to defend himself. A breathy sigh came from over his head and cool hands settled on his temples. His nose filled with the soft scent of almonds. _Sakura…_

Sasuke forced himself to relax and let out a part of his breath, continuing his facade of sleeping. The futon dipped near his waist as Sakura sat down. Due to the small size of the bed, she was forced to press against him slightly, or so Sasuke assumed. She was warm and soft.

"I hate you," she whispered though her tone was more resolved than burning with hatred. "I could have explained that I was only healing you last night, but you wouldn't have cared. You never do." Her words gave him paper-cuts. He had never meant to be unreasonable or, well, like he was; the truth was he couldn't let people in, or anything out. It was simply self-preservation.

"I suppose you would rather have me let you go blind." Blind? He'd been going blind since he had taken his brother's eyes. Then it had been a necessary sacrifice. _One that you still have to live with now, is it still worth it? _It would be, once he killed Madara. "But I hate you," Sakura continued, oblivious to his thoughts, "so I'm not going to let you be happy. Therefore, I must heal you." Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes. Sakura would always be Sakura, no matter how much time she spent with the Witch. Therefore she would always have her twisted reasoning. She would always find excuses to do things for those she cared for.

Sakura activated chakra she shouldn't have had, and began to heal him. Sasuke had to do something now; once she entered his chakra system she would instantly know that he wasn't really asleep. He had to intervene before that could happen. If Sakura knew he had heard her treatise on his health and her hate for him, she would cause a scene he would rather avoid.

He did the first thing he could think of; he sat up and grabbed her wrists.

Sakura stared up at him with wide eyes. They were so, so green. What was he thinking? That dream had affected him more than he cared to admit; changing the way he looked at her. But he could never admit that. Ever.

To his horror, he found that he had unintentionally leaned towards her. Sakura had closed her eyes. Sasuke felt immensely stupid. He should have done something else. Their "moment that wasn't" was interrupted by a very loud, very obnoxious "TEME!" Instinctively, Sasuke pulled Sakura to him as the door shattered, curling himself around her protectively.

"Teme, I was looking- ack! What on earth are you _doing_!"

Sasuke opened his eyes to see the one person that he could not possibly explain this too standing in the doorway. His jaw moved, but he had no words to say. He licked his lips. For the first time ever, the Uchiha had drawn a complete blank. Sakura only eeped, which didn't help the situation _at all_.

"Naruto, I am ashamed of you. You spent how much time with Jiraiya and you don't know the answer to that question? Tch," Kakashi commented coming up behind the blonde and hitting him with his book. As if his insinuation needed an even more obvious sign.

"I am quite aware of what they are doing, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled back. Sasuke winced. Thirty neighbors were sure to have heard that. "I come to tell my best friend that I'm getting married and I find-" Naruto paused unsure how to go on. He was obviously practicing talking like a hokage, and therefore searching for a formal, "polite" way of voicing his assumptions "-this," he said, coming up with nothing.

Sasuke realized he had better intervene _now_. "Sakura was healing me. When Naruto so rudely broke into my house, I was simply reacting. That is all."

Naruto scoffed. "Yeah, whatever."

"You said you were getting married?" Sakura tactfully changed the subject as Sasuke swiftly pushed her off of him, gently, in his defense.

"Oh yeah, Hinata and me are tying the knot. She was okay with leaving her clan after she knew that Neji would be able to take over when her dad kicks the bucket." This was why Naruto would never become Hokage, the "formal" speech lasted for a grad total of one sentence every time. Sasuke's thoughts turned to more crucial matters as he realized what Naruto had just said.

"That is impossible, idiot."

"That's what I said!" Naruto looked smug. "But apparently someone found some long lost records proving that _Neji_ is actually the heir- or something like that." Sasuke caught the pointed look the Dobe shot at Kakashi.

Kakashi pursed his lips underneath his mask, pretending not to notice. "I have found that if something benefits you, you should just go with it. Ne?"

Sasuke watched Sakura coil herself to spring. "You didn't."

"Didn't what?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You did."

Kakashi was trying to look innocent. "Tch. Such ungrateful students. I teach one a technique and he uses it to try to kill me. I train the other to become a strong ninja worthy of the title of Hokage, and he gets a big head. And now my innocent little girl is accusing me of a horrendous crime. Youth these days."

Memories swarmed Sasuke's mind. He went back to that day. That day when he had lost himself. The day when he had-

"Don't you agree, Sasuke?" Sakura was asking. He blinked, trying to bring himself back to the present and stuff the past back into the vault it was supposed to be in. "Forging documents sullying the head of the largest clan in Konoha. Honestly!"

Kakashi rolled his eye. "Would I do such a thing?" Sasuke decided it was for the best he hadn't been able to respond. Interfering in something like this could be…dangerous. "Why would I wish to demonstrate that Neji was the true heir? It was convenient, but I wouldn't lie about I man's virtue, Sakura."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "And Icha, Icha Paradise is true literature," she muttered under her breath. "What I can't believe is that the Hyuugas and the Council fell for it." Sasuke silently agreed.

"Perhaps that demonstrates the truth of your so called 'accusation'," the jounin countered.

"Not that all this isn't interesting, but, Teme, what tornado came through your living room? I can't even get to the kitchen!" Naruto wailed from the other room.

Sasuke got up and staggered to Naruto's side, hoping that he'd succeeded in preserving at least half of his dignity. He winced as the Dobe tossed their furniture aside to clear a path to "food". Sasuke tottered after him, trying to keep him from breaking everything else and making an even bigger mess.

"This is even worse than my apartment," Naruto bemoaned as the he opened the fridge. "There's not even any_ food_ here! Moldy or otherwise!"

He began to rant about how stupid you'd have to be to have absolutely _no_ food in the house. Sakura and Kakashi were arguing over ethics, rather loudly. Sasuke's throbbing migraine threatened to explode.

Abruptly, Naruto became deathly quiet. Sasuke knew his friend well enough to know that something was bothering him; something he had been trying to suppress the whole morning. He also knew that this was the real reason Naruto had shown up here for no apparent reason. Sasuke remained silent as well, trying to prepare himself for whatever bomb Naruto was going to drop now.

The silence stretched between them. Sasuke listened as Sakura yelled, "Well when you die, I guess we'll know why then won't we!" Absurd girl; Kakashi was not going to die from something as minute as bringing to life the skeletons in some old man's closet, even if that old man was the head of the Hyuuga clan. No, the famed Hatake Kakashi would have to die some other, more dramatic way. If Sasuke could not kill him, then only Madara could.

Suddenly Naruto broke out, "Teme what is really going on between you and Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke was yanked from his musings about how Kakashi would die back to the nightmare he was living in. In truth, he had known that this moment was coming, although he hadn't expected to come quite so fast. He knew that he needed to be honest with Naruto, the Dobe wouldn't take it well if he wasn't. In all reality, he had a right to know. But somehow Sasuke just couldn't bring himself to admit the truth. He closed his eyes a minute to regroup himself. He had faced powerful ninja without a second thought, literally. There was no excuse for cowardice now.

Sasuke opened his eyes and stared into Naruto's. "We're married."

**Review? **


	9. Chapter 9: Moment of Truth

**A/N: Hey, everybody. Yeah, Thanksgiving didn't happen, I'm sorry. But I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving anyway. There has been a question that I need to address here: **

**Q: What's the deal with Sai's getting his emotions back? **

**A: Okay, what happened was that Sai was giving Sasuke a hard time about not loving Sakura when he is at least _capable _of love. Sasuke decided to teach him a lesson and used Danzo's jutsu to change reality. All anybody knows after that is Sasuke passed out and Sai is now more emotional than before. Sakura and Naruto believe Sasuke finally committed an act of kindness, but Sasuke knows how miserable Sai will be in his marriage to Ino now that he is "emotional". That is how the matter stands as of this chapter. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Sai and Ino, there's just some things we have to deal with first. :)**

The moment the words were out of his mouth Sasuke knew he should not have been honest with Naruto. Not yet, anyway.

His friend shivered, his body trembling from his fight with the demon inside of him. Sasuke held his breath. If this had been any other moment, he would have simply activated the sharigan and manipulated the creature back into its hole. If this were any other time, he could have fought with Naruto enough to calm him down; then they would all go get him ramen and forget about this.

But this was not any other moment. This was the one moment of history when Uchiha Sasuke was helpless and could do nothing. Nothing except hold his breath and wait.

As a child, Sasuke had had no problem with trust. He had trusted everyone and everything, especially his brother. Ten years later he could trust nothing. Perhaps that was the fundamental difference between the Uchiha and the jinchirukki. Naruto trusted everyone. Sasuke remembered the chunin exams; Naruto had trusted Gaara to listen to him, had trusted all the others he had reformed since then too as well, the Dobe had even trusted him. Now that their situations were reversed, Sasuke found he could not trust his "best friend" to conquer the monster inside of him.

To make matters worse, the Uchiha had always been in smooth control of most situations, or at least be able to defend himself in some way, even if it had been insignificant compared to the threat; but this moment he had nothing.

Another second dissolved into history as Naruto battled it out. Sasuke stood immovable watching the sweat pour off his friend's face as the Dobe made the decision that would ultimately decide his fate. His stunt yesterday had almost killed him, and a feral Naruto most certainly would finish him off.

Sasuke stood there waiting for the red light to erupt around Naruto. In some weird way he couldn't explain, he was almost happy it would be over. Sakura could move on, Naruto would feel guilty, but he'd get over it and they could all have the happy little lives they'd wanted. He wouldn't be in the way anymore. Sakura could go marry whoever it was she was in love with now, and the council could deal with it; even he would get the peace he'd wanted. But more than that: he could just forget. Sasuke had wanted to forget the stupid events of his life forever, perhaps he had just gotten his wish.

Naruto shivered violently.

Sasuke knew what he'd see when the Dobe looked up. He raised his chin and squared his shoulders; Kakashi could fix this easily with the sharingan, but Sasuke refused to run to him like some frightened child. For some reason, he could not completely expect to die now. He wondered if anyone ever really expected it.

"You idiot, get out of here! Get Kakashi! Do _something_!" Naruto hissed.

Hm. He was lasting longer than he should have. Interesting. Perhaps there was hope for coming out of this with some dignity after all. "No one can do anything that you can't do yourself. You've fought the monster and won before, so do it again."

It was true, obviously, and they both knew it. Naruto had the determination to do whatever he wanted. Ultimately, it was up to him.

Kakashi ran into the room. "I heard a growl and-" He cursed and pushed the forehead protector away from his left eye before beginning the hand seals to trap the nine-tails behind yet another seal.

"It's okay, sensei," Naruto panted looking up. "It's all good." Sasuke watched as Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but the Copy-nin said nothing. "And, Teme, you are the most horrible person on the face of the earth!"

"Madara's still alive, Dobe." Sasuke stated. He would never admit it, but he was somewhat relived that Naruto had better control of the beast inside him now. Although, he had to wonder what had changed….

"Okay, then you are the _second_ most horrible person on the face of the earth."

"Hn."

"Naruto, be nice!" Sakura rebuked him sharply, though Sasuke could tell she didn't mean it in the least. The Dobe grinned at her seemingly sheepish, but the famous grin was more of a grimace. Sakura continued to rant about the lack of manners, not that anyone was listening. Kakashi seemed to be confused; Naruto was trying to control himself Sasuke guessed, while he was trying to piece together just why the fact that they were married had upset him so bad.

"Really, what is the world coming too?" Sakura finished.

Naruto grimaced again. "What is it coming too?" He visibly rallied himself. "C'mon, Teme, I'm buying you lunch to celebrate!"

Sasuke winced like the others expected him too. "Not ramen."

"Because I'm feeling so generous, fine, we'll get something other than ramen." Naruto consented. He seemed anxious to be alone, probably to conduct his interrogation. "Are you going to just stand there arguing? We've got to go paint the town. I mean, soon I'm going to be a married man." The Dobe's face contorted when he said "married", and Sasuke realized that he needed to get him out of here as soon as possible.

Thanks to the Witch, getting away from Sakura was going to be slightly difficult.

They ended up eating cold sushi Naruto bought from a shack across the street on the roof of Sasuke and Sakura's apartment building. Surprisingly, Naruto said nothing until the sun began to sink in the sky hours later. It was kind of nice, Sasuke admitted, this "camaraderie" between them. Sasuke hadn't been able to be himself for a long, long time. Perhaps this was just an illusion of his weak mind; a probability actually, since this was the Dobe he was dealing with, but he felt accepted, understood. In reality, Naruto should be about to explode right about now. Hmm. Maybe this was just some sick twisted nightmare and he'd wake up now that he realized it was a dream. That would be nice.

"So tell me what happened, Teme."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and blinked.

"With Sakura. Tell me what all happened," the blonde repeated.

He tried to settle himself before launching into a full explanation; it was impossible to foretell what the next thirty minutes might bring, and he needed to be in control of himself as well as the situation. Sasuke got the feeling he wouldn't get his wish. "Itachi made a deal with the council-"

"Yeah, I know that, Teme, get on with it," Naruto growled.

"I'm trying too, Dobe, shut up and let me finish." Sasuke waited for his friend to protest, but Naruto only scowled, so he went on. "You know the part about the murders, well there was another part. Tsunade claims she just discovered; which is probably true, if she had known before she would have ordered me killed, and the scroll burnt to prevent the council from being able to act on that other part."

"But, why she would do something that drastic?" Naruto challenged.

"Because Itachi wanted me to restore the honor to the clan."

"You lost me. There is no clan except you- _Oh_, okaaay, I get it now," Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "And he knew you totally couldn't get a girl to marry you, so he picked out Sakura? What's the deal with that?"

Sasuke overlooked Naruto's insult. "He didn't choose Sakura."

"Then why did you have to put her through this, Teme? Hasn't she been through enough for you?" The blonde growled out.

"Because she had the misfortune to be my teammate; that was the deal Itachi made." He sighed.

"So let me get this straight, Itachi arranged your marriage to your teammate? Doesn't sound like something he'd do, Teme." Naruto pointed out. "Not as an Uchiha or a brother. Tell me the truth."

"I am," Sasuke growled back. "Perhaps this is some stupid trick by the council. Perhaps Itachi trusted them to assign teams with this in mind. He did give me one escape: if there had been someone I loved, I could have married her instead."

"Pfft. He should have known that would never happen."

Sasuke glared at him.

"What, we both know it's true."

"And your point is?"

"That Sakura's the only person who could love you."

Sasuke slapped the back of the Dobe's head. "If you're so concerned about Sakura, why are you marring Hinata?"

Naruto's face clouded over. "You've already married Sakura, Teme."

"You didn't know that."

Sasuke watched in surprise as Naruto shrugged. "I figured it would happen, eventually. She's always kind of belonged to you. Sakura never realized it and tried to ignore the facts, but that doesn't change stuff, ya know?"

Oh, he knew. He knew that better than anyone else in the world.

"So I figured it would happen eventually. Besides, Sakura's like a sister to me, dating her would be freaky. I knew you had feelings for her, after you returned anyway, so I made you promise to take care of her. Not that you're able to help yourself."

Naruto was obviously lying. Through his teeth; which he really needed to brush, by the way. Sasuke had never had any feelings for Sakura, so there had been nothing for Naruto to "know", meaning that everything else he had said was junk too. He was just blowing it off again. But Sasuke let the Dobe by with the lie, because it was one he needed to believe as well.

But Naruto still hadn't answered his question. "Why get married now, to Hinata? Tell the truth."

"I- …do I have to tell the truth- oow! Okay, fine. Granny Tsunade told me it would be helpful, not only politically, but it would protect Hinata as well. She's a sweet girl, she said she loves me, she died for me. I think a lot of her, ya know? She's the best." Naruto proclaimed in his "believe it!" tone.

"You don't love her."

"I-"

"You don't. This isn't like you, why?" Sasuke demanded.

"What is love, Teme?" he sighed. "I- I think…There's no other girl in Konoha that even thinks of me as a person. There's no other girl I could imagine being with. This- Hinata- she's my best chance at happiness."

There was a silence between them. For the first time, they understood each other. They were in exactly the same position.

"How did our lives get so screwed up, anyway?" The Dobe mumbled under his breath. Sasuke didn't reply. Actually, it was a good question- just one he didn't know the answer to. After another moment's silence Naruto burst out: "You know, Teme, we should start a support group." Sasuke hit him in the head again. "Hey! It was a good idea! I bet a lot of guys do this. They need our wisdom!"

"To impart wisdom, you must be wise."

"And you're saying I'm _not_?"

"Hn."

"Hey! Well you're wrong. We're going to get through this and I'll prove to you just how wise I am! People will be begging for my wisdom."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Fine, when _we_ get through this alive, you can start your stupid little "support group"."

"What should we call it? HA? Nah, we need something catchier-"

"Naruto…"

"Huh?"

"..shut up."

**Reviews? Please? **


	10. Chapter 10: Mr Brightside

**Mr. Brightside**

Sasuke ran full speed toward the ninja in front of him. At the last moment, he flipped out his kunai; its edge gleaming in the sunlight. He felt powerful. He felt invincible. That was why he enjoyed fighting so much, because when he was pitted against _these_ untalented idiots, he was in control. He was unstoppable. All powerful. Not some confused little brat who was currently married to a woman he could not understand.

It had been a week since Naruto had found out about the marriage. In all reality, things had gone smoother in that week than they should have. Something about that bothered Sasuke, and some form of anxiety constantly tickled the back of his mind. But since Sakura had apparently decided to get over herself, and that accursed headache had finally gone away, he was currently ignoring it.

Sasuke yanked his mind back to the present as the ninja flash stepped away. It was a move he had expected. His clone dissolved into smoke the moment the enemy's shurkian touched it, just like he'd planed. The chidori crackled to life in his palm. Sasuke smirked as his opponent looked over his shoulder just in time to see the technique that would kill him. The man's eyes widened.

"Teme!" Sasuke hesitated. "You've gotten even better! When Team Seven gets missions again, we'll be unstoppable! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto bellowed, running over with Sakura from where they had been watching with Kakashi. Sasuke turned to give the Dobe a sarcastic look, and was surprised to catch a wisp of a smile on Sakura's face. He blinked, and it was gone. He had not imagined it, he was sure of that. But…_perhaps_, things were changing. Maybe they wouldn't have to be entirely miserable the rest of their lives.

"Good fight, Uchiha," Dog-boy mumbled.

"Yeah, if this'd been for real, Teme'd slaughtered ya!" Naruto added. Sakura elbowed him in the gut, hard enough for Sasuke to hear it ten feet away. Naruto dropped like a rock. "Thanks, Sakura," he groaned out.

"You're welcome, Naruto," she sniffed.

"I was being sarcastic, woman!" he yelled after her as Sakura walked over to heal Sasuke's wounds; just his, because he didn't relish the idea of her getting too close to dog-boy.

After she had healed his scratches, Sasuke caught her wrist. He wasn't sure why. In this last week, he'd become used to her presence, to expecting her to be near him. Still, it made absolutely no sense for him to care about her helping Inuzinka. Sakura wouldn't go for a guy like him. She wouldn't. And even if she did, what did it matter to him?

Nothing.

But now that he'd stopped her, he should state his reason. "We should go." They'd been out here for over three hours; it was possible someone had caught his chakra signature, and if they hadn't, they would soon. He needed to get out of here before they realized an Uchiha was at the training grounds. Sasuke had been expecting an attack of some sort for a week, and now he was nervous.

Sakura looked at him and blinked. "Okay," she said slowly, "just let me take care of Kiba."

Sasuke shook his head. "We've been here too long already."

"So it's not like ten seconds is going to make much of a difference."

Never mind, the rest of their lives would definitely be spent in utter misery.

As he watched Sakura promenade over to the idiot, Sasuke's blood began to boil. She had just brushed him off, completely ignoring what he had just taken the time to tell her. So it was dog-boy she was in love with now. Well, he'd take care of that. He'd cut that irritating brat into so many pieces that not even Tsunade would be able to sew him back together again. He-

"Hey, Teme, your veins are popping. Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, just like he would ask if Sasuke preferred summer to winter. But before the Uchiha could bite his head off for such a _dumb_ question, the Dobe followed his gaze and said, "_Oh_," in that "yeah... you finally saw that?" way.

Sasuke laid him out right there.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried from where she was bandaging up dog-boy's arm because apparently "he'll bleed to death before he gets to the hospital, _Sasuke_". "Sasuke! What were you thinking! Honestly, you boys act like ten year olds."

"Shut up, Sakura," he snapped and walked off.

Behind him, the Dobe started laughing. Sakura was probably babying him now instead of Inuzinka, because he cried out breathlessly, "I'm alright, Sakura-chan. But you'd better go check on the Teme." Naruto broke off into giggles again.

Sasuke didn't wait to hear what embarrassing thing the idiot was going to say next. He should have just left this cursed village again. Or, better yet, he should have just stayed away to begin with. It's not like he'd come back because he actually _cared_ about them. He didn't. In fact, by morning he could be back in Madara's service, planning the villain's downfall by himself. The only reason he had come back at all was because he had gotten tired of being followed everywhere he went by a bunch of idiots from Konoha crying for him to come back. Nobody took you seriously when the very village that should hate you the most was begging for your presence because they couldn't bare living without you. It was absurd.

He knew the instant he had reached the end of the thirty feet Tsunade had cursed the 'couple' with sharing. The sensation was something like the stretching of a rubber band. Sasuke teetered on a branch for a moment, uncertainty and hesitation taking over. He blamed it on the caution he had been forced to learn when he was just a kid, as they had never tested the Hokage's jutsu or its effects before. His head throbbed. It would hardly be flattering to be found unconscious thirty feet away from Sakura with no explanation that would justify such a thing. Perhaps it would be best to stay here, Sakura would come by soon and then they could simply return home, no mess. Sasuke decided that would be the best course of action, and settled down to wait for his 'wife'. Suddenly, in that second, the band holding them together snapped.

Sasuke hugged the tree and commanded himself not to lose consciousness. He didn't, but he realized Sakura must have activated the jutsu, and therefore, she could be in trouble. Not that the Hokage would be enough of a fool to place a jutsu on her prized student that could possibly hurt her, but Sakura had been rather run down lately, and she would never tell people she couldn't help them or train. Like she had some fear of being considered weak, and yet she was making herself so.

And all because of that stupid bog-boy.

Sasuke turned around to go find out what had happened to her, thinking of all the ways to torture that creep.

* * *

><p>The Hokage frowned at Sakura. "You of all people should know better," was all she said. But she continued to treat Sakura for an hour. "I warned you about the jutsu. I though you two would have enough common sense to heed my warning, or at least halfway listen if you could do nothing else, but apparently not," she mumbled as she finally ended the jutsu and rubbed her temples.<p>

"I would have thought you two would find it useful to remember the jutsu I placed on the two of you. This particular jutsu encourages two or more people to stay within the same general area due to the extreme amount of stress it places upon the body and mind if they do not; as I'm sure you both discovered this morning. This stress causes an overload on the person that triggered the jutsu, thereby knocking them out for thirty minutes. It is designed to overload the chakra system in particular. I'm sure you can see the benefit of this when placed upon a criminal, as it discourages them from fighting back. So, Sakura, you really need to conserve your chakra. I know you're concerned about Sasuke's little problem, but he can go a few days without treatment, and if I catch even the slightest rumor of you trying to help anyone else, I shall lock you both up together in the Hokage monument. Is that clear?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes a fraction. This was the second time Tsunade had mentioned something about his health. He knew he couldn't make Sakura tell him now, unless she wanted too. He would have to wait until later, so he simply scoffed. "I'm fine. She's the one with the problem."

He expected some "so that's why you were in bed last week because you depleted your chakra", but there was none such lecture. There was only an awkward silence during which Tsunade gave Sakura a pointed glace and Sakura studied the white sheet.

Tsunade (probably deciding to "tactfully" bring up the big secret) stated, "You haven't told him."

"Tsunade-sama-" Sakura started.

The Witch shook her head. "No. I'm done. You two work this out. Either you want to make it work or you don't. It's up too you." They both silently watched her get up and start to leave. Truthfully, Sasuke wasn't sad to see her go. The meddling woman had messed up his life enough already. "But, I'll tell you this! The two of you need to bend a little. Sasuke, stop being so jealous, and possessive, and just scared of losing everyone close to you and getting hurt again, it's pathetic really. And Sakura- be more thoughtful. Your life has changed. Get used to it. Think about how it makes Sasuke feel as a man when you don't even tell him "good fight" or anything, something that even Naruto had the courtesy to tell him in his own way, and then you go off and start helping some other man. Yes, I am aware that Sasuke doesn't love you, but the two of you are still married and the two of you have to learn to live with it! _Bend_ a little!" The Witch yelled as she slammed the door to their bedroom- and the front door as well.

A very long, painful moment passed in silence.

Naruto wasn't even there to rant about just how awkward it was.

Which somehow made the situation all the more awkward.

"…You were- jealous?" Sakura choked out, obviously shocked.

"Of course not," Sasuke sniffed. "Your so-called "wise" Hokage has been drinking too much again. However, your behavior was improper."

"What do you mean improper? I was merely doing my duty as a medic! You need to get over yourself, Uchiha," she retorted.

"In case you missed every word your teacher said, you're not a medic anymore," he spat at her.

"You can't just take my career- my life- away from me!" she yelled.

"Get used to it. That's what the council's the best at." He left with that. Things just kept going downhill.

The truth was that Sakura was not in as an imperative condition as Tsunade had played it up to be. Sasuke had convinced her to be more severe with Sakura because one of these days she was going to get them killed if she didn't accept reality now. He told himself they were even, as Sakura had obviously kept something about his health hidden from him as well. The difference was Sakura would know better once the "hangover" from her little experiment wore off.

When Sasuke had gone back for Sakura, he had found those imbeciles clustered around her staring at the medic who had managed to pass out. He had shoved the Dobe and dog boy away from her, and was quickly checking her condition, when Kakashi had made an absurd statement.

"_Calm down, Obito, she'll be fine. She always is," Kakashi had declared. _

Sasuke hadn't had time to think it over in the stress of containing a pink-haired pain in the neck, and it was probably just some stupid comparison that was supposed to be "deep". For some reason, it bothered him. Especially since at the time it had seemed like Kakashi was sincere in his statement, and he also hadn't said much today; not that Sasuke cared. He just hoped that everything with the council was going according to plan.

If there was a plan.

Sasuke didn't exactly have one. He hated hypocrites, but he knew it _was_ hypocritical to expect Sakura to suddenly become the woman his mother had been while he himself remained unchanged. Truthfully, he had no clue how he was supposed to change. It should have been obvious. If the Dobe had been in a situation like this, he would have been able to tell him what he needed to do. But it wasn't Naruto married to Sakura; he was. He would deal with this, with her, he told himself. He just had to figure out what he was supposed to be dealing with.

"_Bend a little," _The Witch had commanded. He had meant to have Sakura redecorate. But perhaps they needed to start with something smaller. Sasuke's stomach rumbled. Was throwing a cup of instant ramen at her considered bending? He shrugged and put two cups of the horrible stuff in the microwave anyway.

**Please review? **


	11. Chapter 11: Price

**A/N: I know I should be apologizing and offering excuses for why this is so impossibly late, but you don't really want to hear them- And guess what! The song "We Are One" from The Lion King 2 is in Japanese on YouTube! *bounces with excitement* Aren't the wonders of modern technology lovely? I need a life. **

Sasuke handed Sakura the steaming cup of ramen. These things continually smelled worse, he decided. Sakura looked at him like he was holding a kunai to her throat when he tossed her a package of chopsticks. It stung him as he realized that she probably would have been less surprised if he had suddenly attacked her.

Expertly, Sakura ignored the awkwardness of the situation and began to try to start up some kind of conversation. The only thing Sasuke wanted to talk about at the moment was what she had the gall to hide from him- but because he decided he should "bend", he allowed her to exhaust the subjects she apparently held in reserve for an instant like this. He even acknowledged them with an "Hn" before quickly dismissing them, or otherwise tearing apart her argument. Finally, his patients were rewarded as Sakura ground to a halt, apparently realizing that the subject of her little secret could no long be avoided. Now he only had to find the right way of demanding she tell him-

"So what did Naruto tell you about his relationship with Hinata?"

Sasuke blinked. So _that_ was the big question she had been building up too? Normally he had an answer for everything; he could effortlessly brush aside statements intended to block his path and drag out the information he wanted. Which totally made the fact that her off-the-wall comment had thrown him for a loop that much worse. Desperately, he tried to reel his brain back in and answer her question with some measure of intelligence. The problem was he really didn't remember anything Naruto had said that would be appropriate in this conversation. So Sasuke settled for, "He merely said that she would make him happy."

Sakura sighed. "I was afraid of that."

Sasuke wasn't sure what to say. Technically, he could insert his demands about her secret here, but it didn't feel right. He felt she was on the verge of some deep revelation, and he couldn't interrupt that. So, he decided to "bend" and remain silent.

"You know what they say, if you go after things because you think they'll make you happy, it just makes everything worse. I mean look at Ino, and- well- you. You got what you thought you wanted and it turned out to be horrible. Naruto- he goes after things he wants relentlessly, and usually it works out for him, but he does it for other people. Not himself. He's never done something specifically because he thinks it might make him happy."

Sasuke took a minute to digest that before telling her how stupid that sounded. It was true that his mission of revenge had completely backfired on him; sure, he had managed to kill Itachi and avenge his family, but it had nothing but increase the self-loathing and misery he had already endured once he had learned the truth. However, he didn't think that the Dobe had _completely _flown off the handle and done this on a whim. Naruto wasn't capable of doing something like that. On some level, he loved Hinata; it probably just wasn't the flowery sort of crush like he'd had on Sakura and the idiot was making a big deal of it. Knowing Naruto, he probably had just heard the Hokage mention that it would be helpful if Hinata married and he had taken it upon himself to marry her because he couldn't stand the thought of anyone else having her. After all, Naruto had grown up; he wouldn't do something _completely_ stupid.

"He's probably just working himself up to ask her out, Sakura. Don't worry about it," he replied finally.

She frowned at him. "You don't understand. Hinata confessed her love for him over a year ago. If he really had feelings for her, why didn't he say or do something before now?" Sakura had turned away during her speech, but he had still caught her blush.

Sasuke didn't miss her connotation. Hinata had declared her love for Naruto over a year ago and the Dobe hadn't even mentioned it afterwards. Sakura had confessed her love to him four years ago and he had told her she made him sick. Now she had been forced to marry him, an arranged marriage in which she could never hope to be loved; as, if his feelings had changed surely he would have said something by now.

He didn't bother to really think about it. He couldn't. Because if he did, he would have to face the reality that he would have to change or give up that stupid dream he'd had since he was twelve- the one of having a loving family again. As he had gotten older, the Uchiha had realized how impossible that dream was, yet he had never been able to really shake it off. It ran through his being like his chakra, and truly giving it up would mean letting go of the only thing that had kept him half-way sane. Like complete chakra depletion, it would kill him.

Considering the uncomfortable places the current conversation was going, Sasuke decided it was time to change it. "Tell me what you're hiding, Sakura," he demanded.

Her head shot up, and she met his eyes almost like a wild animal facing down a predator they hadn't noticed until it was too late. Emotions flitted through her apple green eyes so fast that he couldn't recognize all of them. But the basic message seemed to be that she was afraid he had discovered something she was hiding from him at all costs, and now she was prepared to defend herself however necessary. Then they were all gone and her eyes were hard and flinty. "What do you mean?" She asked guardedly.

Sasuke felt like he'd ended up in the middle of a power play he hadn't been aware of, something that had happened often in Sound. For him, force had been the best weapon. His life had been the only thing he'd had to gamble with at the time, and by some miracle he'd managed to win every time. Resorting to old habits, he growled "Tsunade said there was something you were not telling me. I want to know what that is. Now," he ordered. He hadn't meant to snap at her like that.

"Oh," she said, and relief flashed across her face. He frowned, what else was she hiding from him, then? "Before I explain, I want you to know why I haven't told you. Frankly, I felt that you couldn't handle it, and I expected to have it taken care of before it became an issue."

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Basically, you overdid it by giving Sai back his emotions. But you already know that. What you don't know is the full extent of the damage you did to your system." Sasuke bit back the desire to tell her to hurry it up. Partly because he realized that that would not be considered "bending" and he had no desire to be lectured by the Witch again; partly because by the time he did so and she retorted he could have already discovered what exactly it was that she was hiding from him. "You collapsed the chakra-"

"Sakura!" Sasuke bolted up at the sudden shout. When he realized who it was, he had a hard time resisting the longing to pummel the idiot into the ground for interrupting Sakura's "revelation". His childish selfishness was suppressed somewhat when Naruto panted, "It's Ino and Sai! They were found by Chouji this morning in their apartment. They're in rough shape, and I thought you'd want to-"

He didn't have to finish. Sakura was already diving under the bed looking for her shoes while firing questions off at Naruto. "What exactly happened?"

"I don't know, enemy shinobi I'd guess." Sasuke tensed at the mention of enemy shinobi. Perhaps they were scouts and the mission had simply gone wrong. Unlikely he knew, but the mere thought of spies in the village was dangerous enough. There was no way Sakura could leave the apartment now… "But why he'd want to target them-" Naruto blabbed on until Sakura again cut him off.

"Doesn't matter. Damage to vital areas?" She demanded.

The Dobe held up his hands defensively. "They didn't tell me that stuff, Sakura-chan, just the basics."

Sakura wasn't listening as she brushed past the blonde. Sasuke knew exactly where she was going, and why. He also knew that he could stop her, but he had learned long ago it was important to choose which hills you wanted to die on, because you might be expected to. Over the last few months, he'd gathered that Sakura and Ino had become friends. Sakura being Sakura, she would want to bring her friend back from the brink of death herself; she wouldn't be satisfied if anyone else did it. But that was Tsunade's battle. He didn't care if she saw her friend or whatever, but if there was enemy shinobi in Konoha they would watching their target, even if they were half-dead in the hospital. And if they happened to see Team Seven enter, they'd be curious why Uchiha Sasuke was following a medic-nin into the hospital to see her friend- an annoying ex-fangirl he could care less about. They might be curious enough to follow up on the point and find that the Uchiha was hanging around this pink-haired girl more than normal and make the obvious conclusion. He didn't want to deal with the consequences of that.

"Sakura," he said firmly. She stopped mid-step. "Hinge." It was something they had tried to do consistently in the last week as it would be odd for the two of them to always be seen together for obvious reasons. So, before leaving the apartment, they always hinged, changing the appearance of their transformations as often as seemed necessary. This time however, the woman whirled around and opened her mouth as if to challenge him. That was when he realized that she was in her "top medic" mindset, and willing to quell anyone who even dared to think about questioning her. But, he was proud to see, his power over her wasn't entirely gone, despite what she wanted to believe; she shut her mouth and obeyed him.

Sasuke and Naruto did the same and followed her out.

"Hey, Teme, are you and Sakura-chan okay?" Naruto asked casually as they jogged along behind Sakura.

Sasuke gave him a look. They had been forced to marry each other, told they must have a child within a year, kept information from each other, and had had an argument over her healing Kiba. Did the Dobe really think they were okay? But, they had survived the week. That was something. So, since the blonde seemed to require an answer, he replied, "We're alive."

Naruto fixed him with one of those soul-cutting stares.

Personally, Sasuke was glad that he hadn't said anything.

Sakura barged into the hospital, and disappeared around a corner. Sasuke slowed down to a walk, waiting for Naruto to do the same and when they turned the corner, they released their jutsus. The invisible leash bound between Sasuke and Sakura oddly enough helped him navigate the maze of hallways she had vanished down.

The two shinobi caught up with Sakura just in time to witness her scaring a poor nurse into telling her where Ino was. Sasuke inwardly sighed. He had been expecting her to try and take things over despite the Hokage's warnings, but he hadn't been prepared for it quite this soon. He now realized how stupid that had been. When was anything Sakura did more than an impulse? The girl looked like she was about to break. After all, he reasoned, it wasn't her problem to deal with. But before she did, Tsunade herself came around the corner.

Naruto sighed beside him.

Sasuke turned to him and raised an eyebrow, leaving his question unspoken.

Scrunching up his nose in disgust, the Dobe replied, "It's about to get loud and bloody."

Sasuke doubted it. He wasn't stupid; Sakura was spirited, he realized, but he also knew that she had a tender heart, and conflict with people she loved disturbed her. Unless it was the kind of "just joking" fights that she had with Naruto.

The Dobe seemed to read his thoughts. "Remember our fights when we were kids?" Sasuke didn't point out that many people still considered them "kids", he just nodded. It irked him that people failed to see he hadn't truly been a "kid" since he was eight. "Well, times that by about ten, and you have the fights that take place between Granny Baa-chan and Sakura."

He didn't believe it. How could he? Sakura, unlike Naruto, would show more respect for her teacher. She'd proven that already. Still, the thought of the two most respected medics in Konoha in an all-out brawl was undeniably amusing.

"Laugh now, Teme. Guess who's going to get stuck cleaning up the mess since we're hanging around here?" Naruto paused for dramatic effect. "That's right, US!" Sasuke rolled his eyes. The Dobe really needed to get a life. Perhaps a relationship with Hinata wasn't such a bad thing after all.

The argument between teacher and apprentice was rather loud and intense. It was also short lived.

Tsunade threw her hands up in the air and shouted, "Fine then, have it your way." Sasuke took it to mean that the fight was over. But the Hokage did not back down. In fact, she glared Sakura down in blunt dare to go ahead and do whatever it was she wanted. He watched curiously as she stuck up her chin and strode past her teacher into a hospital room. Sasuke told himself he followed because of the jutsu, because that was the only reason that made sense.

Sakura pulled back the glass door of the ICU unit slowly, like one would pull back the sheet covering the dead at the morgue. She stepped into the room and fully saw her friend- or what was left of her. And watching her face, he could tell, it was that bad.

Beside him, Tsunade shook her head as Sakura trembled at Ino's bedside. He watched as she brought her fist up to her chin in determination, even as the tears flowed down her face. It was a scene to close to comfort for him. So he glanced over at the Hokage and asked, "How?"

She sighed. "Sai went ballistic on her. We don't know why. She gained conscientiousness once, but we had to sedate her. Apparently, she was attacked, and finally forced to defend herself. She believes she killed him, and she might have. She never loved Sai, but she trusted him. This destroyed her- emotionally, physically, and mentally."

Her words rocked him like a crashing wave. Sai suddenly attacking Ino, his wife, the woman he wanted to love-

It was his fault.

It was all his fault and he felt like scum. Well, he should. Because he had felt the need to show Sai just how hard life was for him, he had given him and overdose of emotional ability. And turned him into a murder. He was the lowest scum of all.

Sakura's tears were like a knife in his gut. He had done this to her, and to the girl in the bed. He had become like Itachi, Orochimaru, and Madara. In that moment, Sasuke knew he must fix what he had started. So he unleashed his sharigan.

"NO!" Sakura yelled. He looked up. "You can't." She said breathlessly. "That was my secret. Last time, it caused your sharigan to shut down. I've almost healed it, but I didn't get a chance to heal it all. Because of the previous injury, this time, it would cause you to lose the sharigan, go blind, or even die; and I can't-" She choked up. "I can't let you die too." She meant it. She still cared.

And he knew then that he was the worst kind of person.

**A/N: Reviews? PLEASE? I promise you they are cherished and get royal treatment. :)**


	12. Chapter 12: Stirrings

**A/N: Because of your wonderful reviews and a great old song by Boston, I am inspired to write. Thank you all. You have no idea how much your simple gift of words and time meant (and mean) to me. **

**Now, for all of you love-birds, hope you had a happy Valentine's Day. **

**For all of you free-as-a-bird people, hope you had a happy Singles' Appreciation Day. This chapter is dedicated to you, because "We must all hang to together or we will all hang separately", to paraphrase Ben Franklin.**

**So, whether yesterday was perfect of left much to be desired, may the fluff I intend to include in this make your day :). **

**Stirrings**

Sasuke didn't go through with the jutsu.

He let the sharigan fade from his eyes as a new wave of self-loathing washed over him. He should have done it, and set the world to rights again. Sai and Ino could have stayed like they were; unhappy, but alive. In fact, he could even arrange it where Sakura wasn't his wife, and she could go back to flirting with Dog-boy. Or whatever it was she had done before the whole fiasco of their "marriage" began.

Ideally, that's what could've happened. But Sasuke had learned long ago that this was not an ideal world.

Truthfully, the sharingan probably wasn't _that_ strong. Plus, he was selfish. In some way, he needed Sakura to love him; not that he wanted a fangirl, but he needed to know that he meant something to someone- that if he did _die _she would care. She would cry for him. So he didn't perform the jutsu. Sasuke told himself that it was because he felt guilty enough already, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her any worse. But that was only a partial truth.

The dramatic moment was interrupted when the machines Ino was hooked up to went haywire.

Tsunade walked past him into the room and hastily shoved the tear-drenched Sakura toward him. Sasuke caught her and cradled her against his chest to keep her from falling. "Get her out of here," the Witch ordered.

So he did.

He ushered her out into the hall, past a dumbstruck Naruto and into the waiting area he had noticed before on the way in. She leaned against the wall like a wraith. Honestly, it scared him. Perhaps this had all been too much for her and she had given up the will to live. Then he would have to add killing Sakura to the list of his sins. Frustrated with himself for thinking such ridiculously absurd thoughts, after all, it was just the guilt talking; he turned and searched for a door. Surely they had those here. Apparently not. Well so much for privacy.

He was unsure of how to continue. Uchiha Sasuke was no fool. He knew that their relationship had somehow shifted. He also knew that he somehow had to deal with said changes or they would lose the "relationship" they had. His problem was he had no idea how to do it. Neither the Academy nor Orchimaru had offered "How to Deal with a Broken Ex-teammate/Wife 101". Obviously, his human experiences up to this point hadn't dealt too much with the issue either. Instinct was a dead-zone as well.

Sasuke glared at the sanitize-dispenser. There was no way this could end well.

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered hoarsely.

He blinked. This was…unexpected. She hadn't done anything wrong. It was his fault Sai had done this, no hers.

"I'm sorry I'm such a crybaby. And you probably think I'm a fangirl too." She snapped her head against the wall with an audible "thwack" and closed her eyes. Sasuke could still see the tears streaming from them underneath her eyelashes. "Since you left, I've tried _so hard_ to make myself strong. And after four years, I'm _still_ just an annoying burden. I'm still so _weak_." She growled out the last part.

So this was what she had thought of herself all these years? Her words struck a cord because it was close to what he'd felt all those years as well. _Too close_.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. And she was apologizing to _him_? He inwardly winced. Besides, it wasn't like she was really _sorry_ anyway. He knew first hand that regret was different from complete sorrow.

"Don't." Sasuke snapped. "This," he gestured vaguely, "is not your fault. It's mine. So stop apologizing."

She jumped and blinked those owlish eyes. "What-"

"That's right," he continued, cutting her off. "I gave Sai his emotions back. Sai attacking Ino was my fault. Ino being emotionally wrecked is my fault. You-" he stopped there, because although this was his moment of confession, he didn't want to open _that_ can of worms just yet. So he settled for snapping, "It's _my _entire fault, so quit blubbering." Sasuke couldn't help that last barb. It had slipped out, and old habits die hard.

He had purposely not addressed her original comment. Sakura seemed confused by this, but with any luck, she wouldn't bring it up again. Silently, they sat there for an immeasurable amount of time. Sasuke frowned. Although he didn't want Sakura to re-open certain subjects, he wanted her to say something after a confessing he had practically killed her best friend. Naturally, Sasuke told himself that it didn't matter how she felt about it, but ultimately, it mattered a lot. Trying not to growl out something he would inevitably regret, he glared down at his taunt knuckles and waited.

"Why?" She finally asked

Finally, she had spoken, and his genius response was, "Why what?"

"Why is it your fault? Just because you allowed Sai to feel, doesn't mean you forced him to do this. You think too much of yourself, Sasuke! Everything has to come back to you." She snapped back.

"Oh, so I suppose you think that if she dies it's _your_ fault for not being able to heal her. That way, it comes back to you."

Sakura laughed darkly. "No, Sasuke. I'm just saying that you shouldn't give yourself credit before it's due. I mean, how long will it be before you do that to me? You've already tried to kill me before."

He turned and glared at her. "Is that what you think of me?" he spat.

"What else am I supposed to think?!" She retorted.

Sweeping his right arm out, as if to wipe away her words, he responded, "The whole reason I was telling you this in the first place was because I was just trying to comfort you!" He paused. In the heat of the moment, he hadn't realized what he was saying. He felt sick as he realized what he'd said was true.

She blinked like an owl; then she looked down. There was another long pause; until, "Thank you."

Sasuke told himself that the heat he felt on his face was merely a result of the warmness of the room, nothing more. "You're….welcome," he whispered.

They sat there in relatively companionable silence, compared to what it had been. Glancing over, Sasuke noticed Sakura was crying again. Inwardly he sighed. Once you got her going, you just couldn't make her stop could you?

A moment later, when Sasuke wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him so she could cry into his chest, he told himself if was out of guilt, and nothing more. But something whispered, in the lowest depths of his heart, that this was a start. By some miracle, they might actually make it.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: It has been mentioned that my title doesn't really fit this story. That's true. I shall try to remedy this, but I also want to point out that "You're Not Sorry" is also one of my **_**themes**_**. Sasuke mentions that Sakura doesn't really mean it when she says she's sorry. This is because I've noticed that we say we're "sorry" a lot when we feel guilty or have regrets, but true sorrow is something different entirely. A lot of this people in this story feel guilty or have regrets, but not true sorrow for their actions. That is the main point of this story. Just something to keep in mind. **

**As always, reviews are awesome. They inspire quicker updates. :)**


	13. Chapter 13: Promises, Promises

**What?! I haven't updated in a month? I am so ashamed of myself. *grabs Sasuke and sobs on his shoulder* Sorry, guys.  
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**Promises, Promises  
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Sasuke watched his pink-haired wife sleep like a baby, as she slumped against him on the hospital floor. He absently wondered how she could sleep like that. It looked uncomfortable. But then Sakura was a maze of wonder, and once you thought you were getting somewhere, you rounded the corner to find yet another dead-end.

He frowned at her; this foolish, crazy, easily offended, impulsive, hot-headed, _insane_ woman who had finally managed to take over his life. Sakura over thought _everything_. That's why she hadn't told him about the sharingan, preferring to almost let him go blind or _die _than to face his wrath. She wasn't even what you'd call a knock-out, yet she was the one who got under his skin and made him feel guilty.

She made him feel guilty for every wrong thing he'd ever done. And it wasn't even the big stuff she made him feel guilty for- like wanting to destroy the village or kill the council, or killing Itachi, or almost killing Karin and Sakura herself- instead, she made the little stupid things haunt him; like the fact that he had broken her heart, left her on a bench, and betrayed Team Seven. She made him feel guilty that she had been forced to marry him. She made him feel guilty for hating Kiba. She made him sorry that he wasn't a better person, that he didn't actually love her.

And that was terrifying.

She was slowly twisting him, changing who he was.

He wasn't sure if he liked that. Sure, deep down he despised this monster he had become, but that didn't make the concept of complete and permanent change any more appealing or less horrifying. Change like that meant losing himself and recreating everything he was. But Uchihas were not scared of something like that. No, it was not changing that scared him so much; it was opening himself up again. Sasuke wiped a hand over his face in disgust. He couldn't believe he was thinking about such an absurd, irrelevant subject.

"So, what's going on?"

Sasuke's head shot up. Apparently, Naruto was making a game out of sneaking up on him today, and it was getting old, fast. "What do you want, Dobe?" he snapped, irritated not only with his dumb friend, but also with himself. Shinobi should have better perceptions of their surroundings, instead of jerking around like a dead fish whenever someone broke into thoughts they shouldn't even be thinking in the first place.

The blonde shrugged. "I was wondering what happened to the two of you after you ushered Sakura in here like a mother hen."

Sasuke shot him a dirty look.

Naruto just laughed. "Seriously, though, why are you letting her sleep on the hospital floor? That can't be healthy, and even _I_ know that, Teme."

Sasuke blinked. He should have thought of that himself, but things had happened so quickly…. He should have moved her though. Sakura would have woken up then, he reasoned, and she would have been upset with him for taking her anywhere when her friend's condition remained completely haywire. Methodically, he listed these reasons (and any others that sounded halfway reasonable) off to his friend.

"Uh-uh, I'm sure it wasn't just because you actually enjoy her laying on you like that, and you knew that if you took her home any chance of having her even semi-close to you was officially over."

A glare and a fit of annoying laughter later, Naruto finally got down to the real reason for his interruption of the non-existent "moment". "Baa-chan told me to come find you and tell you to get Sakura home, she needs her rest and that you could assure her that Ino was stable." The dobe paused for a moment, scrunching up his face in confusion. "What did she mean, Sakura-chan needs her rest. Is she pregnant?"

Never before had _the_ Uchiha Sasuke choked on his own spit (okay, he might have blocked some instances from his memory), and he took pride in the fact that for all his sins, he conducted himself in what his clan would have considered an honorable way- insuring the dignity of the Uchiha. But when those three words left Naruto's mouth, Sasuke not only choked on his own spit, but he also had a _very_ undignified look on his face accompanied by some _very_ uncharacteristic and Naruto-like noises, some unflattering language, and a look promising a painful death later for such a question.

Naruto threw his hands up in the air and shied away from his explosive teammate. "Okay, okay, it was just an innocent little question. Nothing to get upset about." Sasuke heard him mumble something under his breath, and although he strained to hear better, he couldn't make out the words.

Still, he managed to pick up his shattered pride and pat it back into place all while sending the Dobe a glare that stated very clearly that he knew the question had been far from innocent. But because there was no reason to hang around arguing about his and Sakura's private affairs in Konoha hospital with an idiot, he just scooped his wife up into his arms to take her home.

She settled against him with a sigh as if she belonged there, in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder. For the first time, Sasuke realized just how short she was. Okay, yes, he should have realized it before, but he had just assumed that everyone appeared short in comparison to his impressive (if he did think so himself) height. But the fact that Sakura could fit comfortably in his arms _without_ straining her neck was remarkable. Suddenly a second realization hit him: he seriously needed to get a life, a bit difficult thanks to the fact that he was now "chained" to Sakura and allowed no missions for a whole year.

"Hey, tomorrow why don't we all go out for ramen?" Naruto asked, as if reading his mind.

Sometimes, having a self-proclaimed best friend wasn't _so_ bad, Sasuke decided. "Hn."

Naruto laughed. "See you at lunch then!"

Sasuke nodded goodbye.

He found the cool night air refreshing as he leaped across the skyline of Konoha. He was tired- emotionally as well as physically. Lingering feelings of guilt and remorse battled the iron force of his will which attempted to push them out of his mind. He had learned that it was better to put mistakes in the past, or rather, he was learning.

A vision of Naruto swearing on his hand that he would do better next time during their mission for Tazuna suddenly filled his mind; he smirked at the memory. They'd all been so young then, and compared to where they were now, innocent. Sasuke remembered the shock on Kakashi and Sakura's face when the Dobe had driven the kunai into his hand to release the poison that had infected it. He remembered his own as the idiot had stood there with the knife in the wound yelling about how he would never back down again, he would never quit again.

To Sasuke's knowledge, he never had. Oddly enough, the whole dramatic scene and oath had seemed to have worked for Naruto. Sasuke had never made such a spectacle of himself, and hopefully he never would. But…perhaps there was something behind this oath thing.

So under the stars, with Sakura asleep in his arms, with no loud "Believe it!"s or any declarations whatsoever, he promised to try harder, to do better- even if it meant opening himself up and getting hurt, again. He would try.

He swore it to the girl sleeping in his arms, on his own life, with only the stars and the moon as witnesses. But somehow, it seemed like enough to him.

His heart swelled, and for the first time in a long time it felt like it was alive. He felt like he was alive.

Glancing down at Sakura, he knew that somehow, she had weaseled her way into his soul, because he was doing this for her. For them. For a future together. He remembered what Sai had said- at least he could try to love her. Well, from now on he would.

And with that came the inevitable promise of laying down his life for her, if it became necessary.

Madara hadn't forgotten about him, not even after all this time, Sasuke knew, and the man would most likely try to attack Sakura now, thinking she was the weaker link. He had known this for sometime, only now, he knew that he would do anything to protect her.

He glanced down at the girl again. "Anything. I swear," he whispered hoarsely. A soft summer breeze caressed them, as if giving its approval. Above, the stars winked down at them quietly; watching, and waiting.

**So, I AM alive. For now. :P Anyhow, I know it's a little short, and something of a filler chapter, but bare with me please, we're getting there, promise. So if you would be so kind as to review, I'll do my best to get out another update in a week. No promises, because life happens and I don't want to let you down (again), but I will seriously try. So, review? **


	14. Chapter 14: Wonder Wall

**Wonder Wall**

Sasuke stretched himself like a cat before finally opening his eyes to the soft morning light. He moaned softly; he hadn't slept so good in a long time, despite the birds' insistent chirping that he really should get up. Last night seemed like a distant memory from years ago, and while he didn't exactly want to forget his promise, something like that was pretty embarrassing. At least Naruto hadn't been there. Then he'd never hear the end of it.

But back to his original thought- he hadn't slept this good in at least a week. Odd that a promise in the middle of the night could make such a difference in a person's sleeping habits.

He heard a soft little moan from beside him which busted open the flood gates of reality. In rare moments like these, Sasuke really wanted to beat his head against a wall to hopefully rid himself of his lingering stupidity. He had slept on the futon with Sakura instead of on the living room floor last night. Of course, he hadn't meant anything sick by it. He was just so exhausted last night that he'd just decided to do it anyway, never mind what Sakura may think.

He got the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that he was going to care right about…..

"Ahhh!"

…now.

Sasuke clapped his hands over his ears at the pitch of her scream flinching away with such force that he rolled off the bed and into the floor. Today was going to be a bad day, he decided as his head thumped against the floor.

Sakura peeked down at him over the bed sheepishly. "Oh, Sasuke, I'm uh-" she paused there, as if just processing what had just happened. "WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!"

Definitely a bad day.

He sat up slowly, rubbed his head, and took a moment to study Sakura before he replied. "Actually, it's my bed. I'm just kind enough to let you sleep there. And for the record, I thought I would enjoy a good night's sleep for once, seeing as I had to carry you home from the hospital. You're just lucky I didn't dump you in the floor for a change. Honestly, though, would you tone down the yelling a bit? Generally, we get enough publicity as it is."

She blinked processing what he'd just said. "Oh, okay…." Sakura sighed. "We really need to get another bed, then. You're right; you can't sleep on the floor forever."

Sasuke glared at her. "No."

"Huh?" Sakura asked. She could get confused over the simplest things.

"I will not repeat myself." Okay, so maybe this didn't fit with the whole "trying to be a better person" thing, but right now, he wasn't in the mood.

"But I…" He gave her a very pointed look. She sighed. "Never mind. We'll discuss this later." He made a mental note to make sure that never happened. Discussing "this" later would not end pretty. It would be best to avoid it for a while longer. "How's….how's Ino?"

For a moment, Sasuke went back to the instant when he'd woken up in the hospital and had asked about his family; the feeling washed over him like a wave of nausea; the small flame of hope in his foolish, childish heart, the over whelming disbelief, and utter betrayal. When he came back to himself, he saw a similar emotion in Sakura's face. Of course, it was only a small bit of what he had felt, but it was still there.

Years ago, he used to snap at her that she didn't understand. While she never would understand how he had felt, maybe she was right; maybe she didn't have a point of reference. After all, he had left, had cruelly jerked her whole world out from under her in one night, much like Itachi had his, although less violently.

This new understanding floored him. Stubbornly, he had locked everyone out of his life because they never would understand what he had been through. But all of them- Naruto, Kakashi, and now even innocent, happy little Sakura- had at least a starting point for imagining what he had been through. All those years he had been wrong. All those years of pain, loneliness, and anger had all been magnified beyond what they should have been because of him.

"She's…she's fine," he said stupidly. Then he realized what he had just said, frustrated at himself for sounding like Naruto. Of course Ino wasn't fine. She was barely hanging onto life. But, in his defense, she was still alive. "They have her stabilized now," he corrected. "The Hokage wanted you to rest, somewhere other than the hospital floor."

Sakura's eyes filled up with innumerable questions, no doubt about her friend's health. To Sasuke's great relief, though, she seemed to decide to wait and ask Tsunade. "I want to see her."

Sasuke had expected that. Obviously, she would want to see her friend, and probably his replacement as well. And as much as Sasuke hated the thought of facing Sai, especially now, he supposed that he owed it to her. So he nodded. "You will eat, and then rest for a while. I told Naruto we would join him and Hinata at Ichairiku's for lunch today; I suppose we could stop by the hospital on our way there."

Sakura looked like she wanted to protest.

At the moment, Sasuke couldn't handle any stupid arguments over whether or not she was allowed for extended periods of time at the hospital (especially after being shoved out of his own bed), so he stalked out of the room and shut the door with a resounding _thud_. It made him feel better.

He prepared breakfast, and after waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and _waiting_, for Sakura to come out, he finally carried it to the bedroom and all but threw it at her. She jerked suddenly and then blushed sheepishly. Apparently, she had been daydreaming while looking out the window or something. He frowned. She really could be childish sometimes.

"Here," he snapped, thrusting the bowl under her nose.

"Um…thanks…" she mumbled, taking it from him cautiously.

"Hn," he grunted as he turned to leave.

So technically, he should have tried to start a conversation with her or something, tried to at least pretend he wanted her there. He owed her that. Actually, he'd sworn something along those lines on his life last night, so he should really take an interest in fulfilling that oath. But he had brought her breakfast. In bed. Didn't females enjoy that kind of thing? So there, that had to count, he decided as he again shoved away yet more feelings of guilt.

Sasuke spent the rest of the day sharpening the weapons he had stolen from Naruto over a week ago. Oddly enough, it seemed a lifetime ago; but then he'd acquired a wife since then, so maybe that was normal. After they sparkled in a way they never had before, he began to arrange them specifically in his weapon's pouch. It was the second time he dumped them all out again in frustration he realized that he was just doing it because he was bored out of his mind.

That thought scared him.

When he had lived with Naruto, the Dobe had always been going somewhere, yelling, or just generally entertaining Sasuke with his stupidity. But now, when he was supposed to be free to do whatever he wanted, he was organizing his weapons pouch like he was stuck in the hospital. Okay, even there, there were more things to do than here when he lawfully had his "freedom".

It was then that he decided he must do something about this.

So Sasuke stalked quietly into the bedroom with a scowl, intending to tell Sakura they were leaving for the hospital now. Only she happened to be completely dead to the world and half sprawled over the futon. His scowl deepened significantly. For a moment, he considered waking her up. After all, she would want to see Ino as soon as possible, even if it would be better for her to stay here and sleep. Sasuke sighed and stormed, albeit quietly, into the bathroom to take a shower. This whole "doing the right thing" stuff was troublesome. Extremely troublesome, he decided. As soon as he was done with the shower, he would wake her up, because she would probably want to take one as well. He would have to wait on her, of course; he didn't have a choice. This was exasperating.

He stole a few extra seconds under the almost-painfully-hot water as a sort of payment for his troubles.

When he decided it was due time to face the world, he walked into their bedroom in his normal sound attire while toweling his hair dry. He froze in the doorway, trying to school himself back into his apathetic state of mind and not do something as absurd as laugh at the crazy scene that greeted him. Sakura had managed to turn one-hundred-and-eighty degrees on the futon and curl herself into a ball like a cat. She had half of her hair in her right hand, and it was sticking straight up in the air.

"I'm glad you enjoyed your nap," he said dryly.

Sakura jerked up and toppled head first off the bed, the left side of her hair still reaching for the sky, though considerably wilted. And sometimes, Sasuke realized, revenge is fulfilling after all. For a rare second, he allowed himself to laugh. Mostly still red, Sakura looked up at him and began laughing as well, and for the first time the tension that had been surrounding them for a week vanished, if only for a minute.

"Get in the shower; we're going to the hospital as soon as you're out."

Sakura leapt immediately. "Really? Thank you, Sasuke!" She gushed, giving him a quick hug and darting into the bathroom.

He stood there for a long moment, blinking and trying to process what had just happed and why he was so bothered by it. He had been hugged by many girls, many times, including Sakura. But this time, it was different. Upon further reflection, perhaps he didn't want to know after all.

The trip to the hospital passed in relative silence. Sakura tried to start a conversation several times, but was too nervous to really pursue any type of conversation, something that he was totally fine with.

Sasuke followed her to Ino's room and leaned against the doorframe while they did their thing. Ino was quiet. Sasuke absently noted this, and went back to brooding by the door as Sakura started chattering about vague and pointless subjects. Five minutes later, when Ino shifted, Sakura insisted on helping rearrange all of her pillows.

"Sakura, stop." Ino finally ordered. "I'm not that bad, honestly," she murmured in a hoarse voice, "I've been through worse."

Sakura looked at her worriedly. "Ino-"

"I know. It's not just a scratch, but it's better than it could have been." Sasuke studied her face from his vantage point by the door, and he saw that she knew. She knew Sai would have killed her. A wave of guilt threatened to drown him before he could push it back.

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered.

Ino shrugged and tried to smile lightly. "So, catch me up on all the latest gossip I've missed since I've been in here."

As they spoke Sasuke studied them from the corner of his eye. Ino's face was too pale, he decided. Also, there was a glazed, wild look to her eyes so they must have put her on strong medication. Perhaps that was a result more of the anxiety and schizophrenia that she had felt than her actual wounds.

He wondered just how serious they actually were. Ino had brushed them off as nothing much, but he could tell by Sakura's body language that they were indeed serious. But shinobi suffered many "serious" injuries on a regular basis. So the question was, just how much worse than normal were these?

Absently, Ino would zone out while Sakura was talking. Sometimes she would even interrupt her while she was talking. Sakura ignored this, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary whenever the girl would blurt out random comments. At times, Ino seemed aware of what she was saying, though Sasuke questioned her consciousness of her words at others. As Sakura kept speaking with her, though, she seemed to become more aware. Perhaps the drugs were wearing off.

After about thirty minutes, Ino mumbled something he couldn't quite catch. He raised an eyebrow questioningly when Sakura turned a pink that brightened into a dark, tomato red.

Ino repeated the question a little louder. "What's your relationship with Sasuke now, anyway?"

Sasuke watched awkwardly as his wife swallowed thickly and debated the best way to respond to her capricious friend. In that horrible second, Sasuke wished he could whisk her away from this gauche situation. A second later that wish was followed by a tremendous amount of surprise. But it was too late; Sakura had hesitated for a moment too long.

"You're together now, aren't you, Sak?" Ino yelled wildly.

Sasuke watched Sakura nod with the vile feeling of impending doom.

"Don't. Just don't do it, okay? Don't mess around with the "troubled" guys, because they bring you nothing but heartache. I don't want you to end up killed by the person closest to you now, or worse, killing him…." Tears streamed down her face. "I can't live to see that…"

Sakura squeaked in alarm.

Sasuke left to call a nurse, but Ino's words still followed him down the hall. "He's not good for you. He'll hurt you one day, whether he wants to or not. Hasn't he proven that already?"

"It's- it's complicated-" Sakura replied woodenly, looking up at him as he returned via flash step to her side.

"No, it's not! He's going to be the death of you! You know that." Ino hissed.

Sakura turned her head away, her voice becoming suddenly firm. "I will not discuss this with you now," she proclaimed as she stood. "I will visit Sai and send you a note telling you how he's doing. We- we have to go… We're late for a lunch date..."

Sasuke pulled her to her feet as the nurses swarmed in. Talking furiously and quickly sedating Ino again.

"I don't…I don't understand…" Sakura murmured while he held her up and marched her out of the hospital.

Sasuke glanced down at her. Oddly enough, the sight filled him with compassion. "She's an emotional mess right now, Sakura," he stated. "You know that. Sai…Sai destroyed her emotionally and mentally, and what he did to her is going to be constantly on her mind for the rest of her life now. She views me as worse than him. She's right. There is more chance I'd do something like that than there was that Sai would do it. But now what she viewed as impossible has happened to her, she sees me as an even bigger threat, and simply responded irrationally out of her concern for you."

"Always? Will she always be like that?" Sakura looked up at him with those big green eyes of hers, and it struck him how childlike she looked.

Subconsciously, he tightened his grip on her, pulling her tighter into his "embrace". "Yes, but eventually she will learn to control it better."

"Like you?"

He paused a moment before responding, "Yes. Like me."

"I'm sorry."

Sasuke looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. "For what?"

"Your family," Sakura whispered so quietly he barely heard it.

It occurred to him then that he couldn't remember anyone ever telling him they were sorry about the massacre, about what he had to suffer, or about Itachi and the rest of his family. By no means did this heal the massive scar on his soul, but it eased the pain a tiny bit.

"Sakura…Thank you."

**Reviews, of all shapes and sizes, are greatly appreciated and very much loved. :)**


	15. Chapter 15: Double Date

Naruto was waiting for them at Ichiraku like Sasuke had expected. Hinata sat beside him, blushing and looking like she would rather battle the Akatsuki than deal with the awkwardness she was now subjected to, and suddenly, he understood why Naruto had invited them along on his "date".

"He should talk to her," Sakura hissed beside him.

"I'm sure he's tried. And failed, apparently." He glanced down at Sakura's face as she continued to lean against him. Surprisingly, his comment had amused her. "Yeah, he's worse than you."

Before he could ask what that was supposed to mean, Naruto "greeted" them by yelling "Teme! Sakura-chan!" so loud you could've heard him a mile down the street. So much for the whole "low-profile" thing, Sasuke inwardly sighed. Not that walking down the street with his arm around Sakura was "low-profile", but still.

"Stop being so loud, Dobe," he ordered.

"Yeah, Hinata needs to be able to hear tomorrow,you know," Sakura chided.

Naruto's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan! I didn't mean-"

"I-it's f-fine, Naruto-kun. I hope you do not mind me a-attending your birthday celebration, U-uchiha-san."

Sasuke paused a moment in surprise. He had written off his birthday again this year, and thought that Sakura and the Dobe had as well for a change. Oddly enough, he was a bit pleased they hadn't in spite of himself.

"Hn. It's fine."

Hinata blushed and smiled embarrassedly. "Thank you, Uchiha-san."

Such an odd couple, he mused.

"Don't just stand there, Baka, order for her," Sakura order the Dobe. "The poor girl's probably half starved!"

Naruto blinked before comprehending what she was talking about. "But I already have! I was starving too!"

"Naruto!" Sakura groaned. "When you invite people to a restaurant, you should wait for all of them - unless they're impossibly late - and THEN order for your date!"

At the word "date", both Hinata and Naruto blushed.

Sasuke inwardly sighed and practically dropped his wife onto the stool beside the Hyuuga. "Leave them alone, Sakura," He said as she glared up at him. Next time he should probably warn her before he let go of her like that when he was supporting her...Oops. "If the Dobe scares her off, it's for her own good."

"Hey!" Naruto protested. His date looked even more like she was considering fainting. Not that Sasuke could blame her, knowing how nervous she got around the Dobe.

Taking his seat beside Sakura, he quickly placed his order for the least offensive type of ramen he could find and settled down for the rest of the tortuous hour. In all actuality, however, they completely ignored Sasuke throughout the rest of the meal. Sakura had been starved for company that really talked, and Naruto was trying to engage Hinata in a real conversation. A little hard, since she hadn't memorized ramen trivia - yet. He felt sure that she would just as soon as she got home, just to make Naruto happy later. Sakura would have for him years ago, he realized, surprised at the slight pang that came with the realization.

Somehow being left to himself wasn't exactly what it should have been - not that he would ever admit that in a million years. Still, after about thirty minutes of being ignored, Sasuke was feeling extremely restless and Sakura wasn't taking the hint. At all. Which made him that much more frustrated and being a wallflower that much more humiliating.

Finally, after Naruto asked Hinata about the Gentle Fist style and she was busy with her explanation, Sasuke managed to yank Sakura back against him without being seen.

"What was that for?" She hissed.

"It's time to go. It's her date, not yours," he ground out.

This seemed to get her attention, and he was able to drag her out without attracting too much attention to himself.

He felt the need to walk off his frustration- because either he did that, or he would most likely end up taking out a wall at their apartment later. Sakura, who looked shaken up, didn't protest. That was odd. She had seemed perfectly fine during lunch and nothing had happened since except his sarcastic remark about-

The realization hit him like the proverbial ton of bricks.

-his sarcastic remark about Naruto's date with Hinata. That was what had upset Sakura. That was the only thing that could have upset her. What followed, then, was the question of why it cost her a second thought at all. The obvious conclusion- the only conclusion was that she had indeed forgotten that it was not her date with Naruto. Which meant that she had been on dates with Naruto before. Still, it made no sense that she would be jealous of Hinata over the Dobe; unless it was just that she had finally realized that she would never have the whirlwind romance complete with the happy ending she had dreamed of as a child. Or unless she had developed feelings for Naruto.

Absurd, he told himself.

But somehow he could not get the idea out of his mind. The more he replayed scenes from the past year, the more convinced he was. Sakura had began to reguard Naruto as a little more than just a friend or just a teammate. He couldn't bring himself to believe that she loved him yet.

What this meant to him was very simple: he had made a grave miscalculation. Sakura hadn't replaced her feelings for him with feelings for dog-boy; she had replaced them with feelings for Naruto. Feelings that Naruto returned.

Sasuke felt many burning emotions in that moment of realization, soon replaced with some very, very chilling ones. All that time he was gone, all that time trying to put the pieces back together after his return, this past week just trying to get his head above water- this was right in front of him, staring him in the face. How did he miss it?He had been more concerned with himself than what was going on around him, even if it affected him later. In his vanity, he had taken Sakura for granted assuming that his pink haired teammate still had feelings for him.

But she still did. That was what confused him the most. Sakura obviously still cared for him in a way that went beyond mere teammates as well. It had never occurred to him, knowing this, that she might develop feelings for Naruto too. To Sasuke, who normally saw things in black and white, this made absolutely no sense. But here it was, and somehow he had to deal with it.

What he needed to know, though, was just how developed these feelings for Naruto were. Information would be crucial to his next move. For some reason, neither of them had acted on these mutial feelings. He needed to know why. Ultimately, Kakashi was the only source of information he could turn to. Sasuke was a very possessive man; and at one time Sakura had been his. He intended to get her back.

He glanced at the sky. She might get suspicious if he dragged her off to Kakashi's and then refused to let her listen to the conversation. But it was only about three in the afternoon, and he didn't feel like going back to their apartment just yet. Tsunade would most likely hang him naked from the Hokage monument by his toenails if he took Sakura training when she was supposed to be resting.

Together, they took another turn around the village. They couldn't keep walking around like this. It might raise suspicion. He didn't need to deal with Madara again on top of everything else.

Sasuke took a deep breath, trying to savor the sweet July evening for a few more seconds before they had to return to the prison of their apartment for lack of anywhere else to go.

"Sasuke," Sakura said softly so just he could hear, "can we, um, visit my parents? I- I haven't seen them in a while. I'm sure they're worried about me, and...they, they have the right to know." Out of the corner of his eye he could see her fiddling with a string on her shirt.

He let out that deep breath through his nose in something that could be called a sigh and opened his mouth to say no. "Please, Sasuke," she begged stopping in the edge of the street. "It- it means a lot to me to see them. Because I know how easily I could lose them and how awful that would be. You of all people should understand that."

So. She played that card. He met her unflinching green eyes for a long minute, during which his will to protest crumbled. Not that it had ever been strong. It might be painful facing her parents as the criminal who had the nerve to marry their daughter, but it would most likely make living with Sakura a great deal easier in the upcoming week. Plus, he decided, it would be an intelligent move in the re-winning of her affections.

"Aa. Let's go."

**Okay, so I know this was short, but I've been having technical difficulties and I figured you guys would want this sooner rather than later. So here it is. Review for me and I'll love you forever, okay?**


	16. Chapter 16: Into the Lion's Den

**A/N: For Sakura 8D. **

Sasuke leaned against the nondescript house as Sakura knocked on the door. She was obviously nervous, he noticed, even though she wouldn't be the one bodily threatened if her parents didn't approve of their marriage.

Not that he was sacred of her father or anything, just that one learned to be cautious. Which reminded him: why had he agreed to this in the first place? Sakura's pleading eyes captured the attention of his mind's eye despite himself while the words "You of all people should understand" echoed in his head. He still couldn't believe she had played THAT trump card; and he couldn't help but wonder what had inspired her to do so.

She was biting her lip now, and practically squirming out of her skin. "It's not too late. We can still leave before they open the door " he taunted.

She gave him a fierce glare. He blinked. Sakura had definitely toughened up over the years.

As troublesome as this was probably going to be, Sasuke recognized its importance for two reasons: first, it would declare to anyone who questioned Sasuke's possession of Sakura (like Kiba) that she was officially his; second, it would affirm the permanence of their marriage to Sakura as well. It would remind her that this wasn't just an farce or acting for a mission that would only last a month- this was forever.

Sasuke wasn't sure just how he expected her parents to respond as he had never met them. He supposed that they would either treat him with great difference and lots of bowing, or they would loudly protest his marriage to their daughter and fight him forever on the subject. He wasn't sure which was the lesser of the two evils.

All in all, he was not prepared for what did happen when the door flew open. A petite woman with short blonde hair rushed out and practically tackled Sakura. Sasuke looked up in amazement at the door she had just appeared from. A man with pink hair and matching beard (there was probably a more technical name for the facial hair, but Sasuke didn't know it) stood leaning against the door with tender smile. This must be Sakura's father, he realized, so the kunochi had inherited her trademark hair from her father instead of her mother. Sasuke shuttered as a vision of a pink haired Uchiha boy filled his mind.

"Let her breathe," Haruno ordered his wife jokingly.

Sakura's mother shot him a glare almost worthy of the Uchiha before turning back to her daughter. "You look so thin and pale! You should know to take better care of yourself!"

"Hai, hai," Sakura smiled.

Sasuke cleared his throat. Watching a tender family scene was hard enough, but there was a purpose behind the visit that he wanted to get out of the way as soon as possible as well.

Both of her parents turned to him with a start and raised eyebrows. A short, awkward pause ensued. Finally Sakura's father cleared his own throat and said, "You must be Uchiha Sasuke. I have heard a lot about you." Sasuke allowed the man to size him up while he asked, "To what do we owe this meeting?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak when Sakura interrupted with "Tsunade-sama has given us quiet a lot to think about in the past week, and we felt we needed to explain some things to you. So I brought him over and was hoping he could stay to dinner?" Sasuke sucked in a breath. This...wasn't how he would have done things, but he supposed Sakura knew her parents better than he did and he should trust her judgement.

Her father frowned. "It's that important?"

"Yes," Sakura replied softly.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Probably not."

"It's not right of the Hokage, expecting so much of you while your still so young!" Her mother cried. "You shouldn't allow her to push you around, Sakura. You need to stand up for yourself sometimes. It isn't fair that you get the most dangerous missions simply because you're her student!"

Sakura tensed up under this attack, and Sasuke instinctively moved to stand behind her. He blamed the protective stance his body naturally took on his time as a member of Team Seven.

"Mebuki," Sakura's father said in a warning tone. "Why don't we discuss this inside, like adults?"

"That's my point! She isn't an adult yet, Kizashi!"

Kizashi ushered his wife inside anyway, murmuring softly in her ear. Sakura started to follow them; Sasuke reached out and grabbed her wrist. "I don't think this is wise," he said lowly, eyes still on the Haruno couple.

"What?!" Sakura asked, a decimal louder than necessary.

After shushing her, he replied, "I don't think your mother is in the mood-"

"Of course she isn't!" Sakura exploded. "I was gone for three months on an S-ranked mission, returned and reported to the Hokage before I disappeared for over a week! My parents trust me, and Tsunade-sama, but they're still human, Sasuke. My mom's probably been out of her mind with worry."

"Oh..." was his lame response. "How do you plan to tell them what's been going on then?"

"...I'm not sure. But I have to try to tell them somehow. I can't just leave them in the dark."

Sasuke didn't have much experience in this type of family or social matters, but he remembered that Itachi had talked about an engagement once, and that the groom had had to ask for the bride's hand from her father and arrange it with her family. An idea began to bloom in his head that he was sure he would regret latter, but at the moment it seemed the best course of action.

"Help your mother prepare dinner. I will explain to your father," he ordered.

Sakura blinked. "But-"

"It will be the best way. Think about it, your mother is concerned about you and springing this on her immediately would be a little much. This way she gets to assure herself that you're fine, and I can explain things to your father in private so that he can express any concerns he may feel without worrying your mother." Or, Sasuke added silently, he can try to kill me in private. So far though, Haruno Kizashi seemed to be a reasonable, level headed, generous man; Sasuke was banking on that to carry over even to ex-missing nin who found themselves married to his daughter.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked gently, placing a hand on his arm.

Sasuke was surprised by the intimate gesture, but sobered at the realization that apparently she thought he was volunteering to go in to the lions' den alone and didn't think he'd make it out alive. "I'm sure," he ground out.

There was such a glowing look of happiness in her eyes, he suddenly didn't care about her previous doubt. She turned away from him and bounced into the house. He blinked. Moment over: he cared again. With a resigned sigh, Sasuke followed his wife into the house.

Already she was persuading her mother to go to the market with her so she could get the ingredients she needed make a special meal for the evening. As the two women left, Sakura was animatedly narrating an account of her mission to ease her mother's mind. Sasuke only hoped they could find what they needed within fifty feet of the house.

Turning back to his father-in-law, Sasuke realized that the man was studying him intently. Again, Sasuke shuddered at the pink hair shaped like a cherry blossom; if his son's hair were to ever turn out like that... Well, it was best not to go there.

"What you have to say to me must be very important, young man," Kizashi stated.

"Aa."

"I'd prefer you just tell me straight, instead of sugarcoating it," he supplied.

Sasuke smirked appreciatively. He liked this man. "Sit down, then," he ordered. "Are you aware of my family history?" Thankfully he didn't choke on the words in any way.

"Some of it." Kizashi was beginning to look suspicious.

"When I was eight my elder brother was ordered by the council to destroy the Uchiha clan entirely," Sasuke deadpanned. The other man gasped and began to protest when Sasuke cut him off. "If you do not believe me, ask the Hokage. I believe, under the circumstances, she will divulge further information to you if you wish to hear it."

"Circumstances? What does this have to do with my daughter then?"

Sasuke drew in another breath to fortify himself enough to spit the words out. "Everything. Itachi and I were very close; so, he agreed to carry out their orders if they agreed to let me live. Until a week ago that was all I was aware of myself. It was discovered lately that Itachi and the council added another clause to that deal: my future marriage to my female teammate to insure the survival of the clan and our blood limit. That teammate would, of course, be Sakura.

You want it straight: I am now your daughter's husband."


	17. Chapter 17: Family Dinner

**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! This is a special early gift for a few special people. CCC, for making me write and keeping me encouraged. Sakura 8D, for beta-reading for me for so long and listening to ALL my problems. Finally, this is for my wonderful reviewers, yes I know every one of you by name and wait on pins and needles to see what you will think of a new chapter. I write for you. **

Kizashi froze like he'd been stabbed in the heart by a kunia. Perhaps in a way he had been, metaphorically of course.

Sasuke froze as well, unsure of what to do now. Oddly enough, he wanted this man to think well of him, to like him. But, he reminded himself, he was an Uchiha; he wasn't supposed to care. Besides, if he took this lying down, Sasuke would lose all the respect he had for the man.

His thoughts were interrupted when Kizashi sprang up and flew across the room. _He's going to punch me, _Sasuke realized. In the split he still had left, he could have blocked the blow, or dodged, or even whipped out a kunia and killed the man in self defense. For some inexplicable reason, he didn't move.

The blow landed on his cheek with enough force to drive him back several feet. He reached up and wiped a small trickle of blood from the corner of his lip.

Kizashi seemed to have come back to himself, though he was still breathing harshly. "I trust my daughter, and my Hokage. If you were as evil as some make you out to be, they would have sent her to Suna rather than ever let her marry you." Sasuke didn't flinch, still it hurt to know it was the truth. If they didn't think he'd changed, Sakura would have died before she married him. As it was, she had attempted to go rogue. "If you did not care about her at all, you wouldn't be here. So I will not drag this out in the courts and make it worse for my little girl. However, if you hurt her at all, I will kill you and not even your precious eyes will be able to save you."

Sasuke could see he meant it. Sakura's parents were only genin, but Kizashi was strong, as he had just experienced first hand, and a desperate man would stop at nothing- he knew that first hand too. There was no doubt in his mind then that this man would indeed kill him if he hurt Sakura- again.

Sasuke jerked his head down in a nod. "I expect no less from the father of my wife."

"In that case, welcome to the family." Haruno tried for something like a smile; it came out as more of a grimace or maybe a snarl.

"I think there are some...legalities we need to take care of before Sakura gets back," Sasuke interjected. At Kizashi's raised eyebrow, he continued. "Traditionally, there would have been a treaty between our clans for mutual protection. I would like one to be made now-"

"So you want control of a tiny clan. I-"

"I want Sakura to be safe; and if something happened to me, well provided for. I want this to be as official as I can possibly make it," Sasuke growled.

"She's in danger?" Kizashi demanded.

"It hasn't been proven yet. But Obito and Madara didn't have the courtesy to stay dead the first time. It's unlikely they'd start now. Being connected with me then, like she is, is dangerous. I-" he paused, a half baked plan forming in his mind. Sasuke rubbed his bruising jaw. "I would like to share some of my clan's secret techniques with you once I get Kakashi's permission."

Kizashi inhaled sharply. "That's- are you certain?"

"It would be good for someone living to know them, to be able to pass them on and use them to protect Sakura. For some reason, I trust you," he explained.

He was glad that Haruno didn't ask why he couldn't just show them to Naruto or something. Sasuke supposed it went without saying that if he ever died, Naruto and Kakashi would probably be going down as well. They would be lucky if Sakura survived. Kizashi, in all his fatherly determination, was becoming Sasuke's last line of defense for her and he wanted that line to hold as long as humanly possible.

It was with this realization that another completely blindsided him. Kizashi was right. He did care. That's why he hated Kiba more than usual, was jealous of Naruto's easy friendship with Sakura and the fact that she'd much rather be around the Dobe than him. As her father pointed out, the "stirrings" he felt were the only reason he was standing in this house, talking to Kizashi.

Oh, this was bad. Somewhere, Itachi was laughing it up with the rest of the universe. Sasuke could practically hear him.

"What else needs to be addressed?" Kizashi asked.

Sasuke nearly blushed; except Uchiha didn't blush. But then, they didn't space out upon realizing that they cared about the well being of their teammate a bit too much either. It was probably a good thing none of them could see him right now.

"It would most likely be best if the marriage was kept low profile. The more public it is, the more likely bad things will happen," Sasuke replied, a bit more curt in his frustration with himself than he intended to be.

"Then our main problem is how am I going to explain this to my wife?" Kizashi asked.

Sasuke frowned. Mebuki certainly seemed like a firecracker. Apparently that's where Sakura got it from. The woman might present quite a problem for their "family".

The male powwow was interrupted by the return of the females. Sasuke found himself loaded down with groceries and shoved into the kitchen where he was promptly put to work performing menial tasks at the order of the two cooks.

He really didn't mind. It was homey. Of course, he would rather be tortured than admit it. Dinner turned out to be delicious, and the Harunos kept it lively. Sasuke himself couldn't hold in the smirk when Mebuki described some of Sakura's early nin adventures; to which her daughter added details despite her earlier protests that Sasuke didn't need to hear about them.

"Now, Sakura, tell us your big announcement," Mebuki requested once they had finished the meal.

Sasuke tensed, and tried to hide it with a smirk. Sakura attempted to smile. "Well mom, we- I- kinda did something crazy." Sasuke opened his mouth to jump in since this was obviously _not_ a good way to break their news to her mother. "We eloped," Sakura finished before he could speak.

Utter silence filled the room.

"Sakura! You know better than that!" Mebuki frowned. "Marriage is serious. It's not something you just rush into like that."

"Ka-san,"Sakura said patiently, "it wasn't rushed. We just wanted to keep a low profile because of who he is."

Mebuki blinked. "So you couldn't even tell us?"

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered looking down. "It's just- I love Sasuke. I always have, and I didn't want to hear what you would say about him. It doesn't matter what he was!" So she was acting like a crazed fangirl to save her mother grief. Sasuke inwardly sighed. He wasn't sure if that helped or hurt.

"Sakura! This is foolish. Think about what you're doing."

"I have, mom. And he's the only future I want."

Something warm stirred in Sasuke's heart, before it iced over again when he realized what a lie that was.

"Sakura-" her mother tried again.

"Mebuki," Kizashi said softly. "We aren't going to talk her out of it now. All we can do is wish them well, and that their children don't inherit your stubbornness."

"My stubbornness, old man?!" Mebuki asked glaring at him.

"Or your temper."

The rest of the visit was filled by Sakura's banter with her parents, and it went smoothly (minus the fight over female tempers), and the new young couple left with an invitation extended to both of them for another dinner. Even if it was begrudging, the Harunos would attempt knowing their new son-in-law.

Sasuke left with a thawing heart. His in-laws were not his family, not even close. In some ways they made having lost his own family harder, but in others he felt more human after the evening with them in a way he had only felt around Naruto all those years ago.

As they walked back to the apartment through deserted streets in the dark, Sakura started laughing. Sasuke glanced over at her, afraid for her mental health. "What?" He asked.

"I love them so much."

"Hn."

"Thanks, Sasuke." He looked back at her. She laughed again. "Don't worry. I won't knock you out."

He shot her a glare.

"When we were shopping, I remembered I had forgotten to get you anything for your birthday." She smiled. "Here."

With that, she shoved a small box in his hands, and walked on ahead. He frowned and continued to walk on behind her as he unwrapped it. It looked like a chocolate box. He frowned. Surely she knew he didn't like sweets. _But, _he supposed, _I should eat one anyway._ Uchihas were reknowned warriors, but they were raised with manners as well.

He opened the top, and was greeted by bright red cherrie tomatoes and ongori. He popped a tomato in his mouth and smiled.

Despite the family issues, the danger from the insane, dead members of his own family, and these bothersome stirrings he was feeling; well, maybe they would be alright. At least they had established a real friendship.

Oh, and he got tomatoes.

He just had to remember to meet with Kakashi tomorrow and work out some of the legalities he had been ignoring for over a week, without stressing out Sakura now that she was happy again and hopefully coping with what had happened to Ino.

He needed more tomatoes.

**A/N: So, I tried to make this longer than normal since it is the season and all that. Therefore, good readers, I hope you have caught the spirit of Christmas early too and leave me lots of reviews. Please? If you don't, no one else will. **


	18. Chapter 18: The Isty-Bitsy Spider

**A/N: Dedicated to Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora: for reviewing all seventeen chapters so far even though you had just stumbled upon the story at seventeen; for pushing my reviews over two hundred; and, most importantly, preserving in writing over one hundred stories for the fanfiction community. That was a lot of work I'm sure, and it deserves to be recognized.**

Just as Sasuke closed his eyes a sickening scream pierced his ears. Sakura! His mind screamed. In a flash he had slammed the bathroom door off of its hinges, prepared to face down Madara. His wife was currently cowering on top of the toilet seat, still screeching out that sound that curdled his blood. To his great relief, no enemy shinobi was lurking in the shower she had just emerged from.

"Kill it! Kiiiiiillll it!" she demanded, clutching the mint green towel she had around herself for dear life.

Sasuke looked down.

On the floor sat a very large, completely brown species of tarantula; or so Sasuke assumed. It was large, long legged and surprisingly not hairy. He could make out its pincers quite plainly even from three feet away. It looked like it would be fast, but the creature seemed too confused by Sakura's screaming to decide how it should react to her. Upon Sasuke's violent entrance into the room, it scuttled backwards towards Sakura- who began screaming bloody murder. It froze, seemingly deterred by the noise she was making. Sasuke had always considered spiders as intelligent, but caught between two apparent threats, this one seemed at a loss.

Normally, he didn't pay too much attention to insects or spiders, but this one was bigger than most- it could even be poisonous- besides, he needed Sakura to stop screaming and he doubted that would ever happen until the thing was dead. So, he had to kill it. Sasuke frowned and picked up her discarded nin sandal. Taking a cautious step toward the creature to avoid scaring it off, he raised the weapon over his head and-

"NO!" Sakura yelled.

He stopped mid-swing.

"You can't do that!" she hissed. "It might jump or something! Besides, it will make an awful sound when it- well, you know, dies. Take it outside and kill it or something! That shouldn't be more than thirty feet."

"And just how do you suggest I do that?" he questioned.

"You...you could carry it," Sakura said hesitatingly, shivering at the thought of actually touching the huge spider.

He stared at her. There was no way in the world he was picking that thing up in his hands and carrying it anywhere. The thought was simply ridiculous. If it bothered her that bad, she could just get over it…or, she could leave. "Sakura," he sighed, "be reasonable. I can't; you'll just have to deal with it, or leave if you want."

"I can't!" She wailed. "It's- I- I just can't!"

"Then deal with it." He raised the shoe again.

Sasuke had never been in a domestic argument with a woman before. Obviously most women were flattered that he deigned to speak to them, and were only too happy to do his will. Or so he chose to believe. Sakura, however, was quite the exception, and with a spider the size of Fire Country in her bathroom this was a fight she was not in the least about to lose.

In the end, Sasuke was convinced that a solution should be found elsewhere; he'd just have to think outside the box. Thinking outside the box to defeat unusual opponents was something he was good at. That was also one of the reasons he had been such an infamous criminal. Not that any of that did him any good against this stupid spider which Sakura for some stupid reason wouldn't let him just smash.

Suddenly, an idea struck him and he turned on his heel and exited the bathroom.

"Sasuke, where are you going?" Sakura hissed. He kept walking. "Sasuke, don't leave me! Please," she was begging him. "Sasuke!" She was expecting him to protect her, yet she didn't fully trust him to do so. Maybe he should have explained, he thought as he raced up the steps. Maybe that was part of their problem: lack of trust in each other. But then, said a sadistic voice in his head, Ino trusted Sai and look where that got her. It's a good thing Sakura doesn't trust you, you would end up hurting her even worse than all those other times. He violently shoved those words from his thoughts. He couldn't deal with the angst at the moment; didn't want too, even. After that dinner with Sakura and her family, he almost felt normal, whole, sane- healed.

Once on the roof, he quickly summoned one of his smaller snakes and gave it orders to kill the spider he was about to trade places with. After it's acknowledgement of his request, Sasuke quickly formed the hand seals for replacing himself with an object, hoping that it would work for him even though the spider was alive. That day when Kakashi had taught them the jutsu to replace themselves with logs in battle, Sasuke doubted the old man ever intended for him to modify it to destroy the tarantula terrifying Sakura in their bathroom.

Sasuke always counted it his own personal miracle afterward (in his private thoughts of course) that the jutsu did work the way he had needed it too. He found himself practically nose to nose with Sakura, in the spot which the spider had occupied only a millisecond before. Meaning, he assumed, that it had found itself on the roof where he had stood just a moment before, being killed by a snake.

Upon seeing him and only him in front of her, Sakura's paranoid features sharpened into shock before softening significantly into relief and joy. On what he could only explain as a sudden impulse, she wrapped her arms around him and squealed delightedly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She obviously had no, or little, idea what she was doing, he concluded. There was no way she was logically thinking right now, or she wouldn't be hugging him- much less saying those words. The next instant Sakura seemed to realize that too, because she abruptly froze and drew back.

At least, she tried.

"…Um, Sasuke….we- I have a predicament."

Glancing down at her pink head he raised an eyebrow. "Hn?"

"Um, well, you see I got carried away and hugged you not thinking and- well, if either of us move even a millimeter I think…Ithinkmytowel'sgoingtofall," she rushed out.

It took Sasuke a moment to decode her words in his head, but when he did, his ears turned pink. "Then…what do you propose we do?"

Sakura was silent for a long minute. "I…I don't know. Surely there's some way you can turn around or something fast enough not to see? Then I can grab my towel and fix it enough to where you can walk out. Only…"

"Only?"

"I don't want to step where the spider was. Or be alone in here again. Another one might show up." She cringed.

"Sakura, you are a kunochi of the Hidden Leaf," Sasuke reprimanded.

"I know. On the job, I don't let it bother me but at home I- well I just can't help it! It was on me, Sasuke! That huge leggy thing was ON MY BODY!" she cried. "And I just don't want to walk on the floor where it was barefoot, or be alone just now...I'm sorry," she whispered.

He really was in no way prepared for this. As a child, he had thought Sakura weak; now he was getting used to her being strong- not only strong enough to hold her own physically, but she was one of the strongest people emotionally he'd ever met- second only to Itachi and Naruto in fact. Still, her reaction to the spider, under the conditions of stress and emotional strain she'd been experiencing lately, was understandable. She was bound to snap sometime. He had several times already. But now that she had, well, he had no idea what to do with her now.

With Sakura clinging to him by necessity throughout her hysterics, however, he somehow couldn't find it within himself to be upset with her like he should have been. He sighed heavily. "One crisis at a time, Sakura. Fix the towel; I'm not looking." He covered his eyes with a hand to illustrate his words.

She drew back and it was only a moment before she said meekly, "Okay."

Sasuke opened his eyes and found her securely wrapped back up. He noticed that this time her hands never left the spot where she had it clasped. Alright, one crisis down. "I'm going to bed," he told her as he turned to the doorway.

"Sasuke! You can't just leave me in here!"

He looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, you can. But it wouldn't be nice!" She backpedaled. "And you're supposed to be nice to me!"

Hmm. He thought he remembered making a promise like that a couple nights ago. He sighed. This was so- so troublesome. Hn. Troublesome woman. "What do you suggest I do about it?"

"I- well, I don't know," Sakura mumbled.

"Hn."

"You don't have to be so smug about it!" she cried. "You could- you could carry me!"

He froze. He had carried her before- lots of times since he was twelve. But all the times he could think of at the moment she'd been unconscious or asleep. Right now, she was most definitely not asleep. The smart thing to do would be to just keep walking. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. Sasuke wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to why that was; but he told himself that it was because her screeching was fresh in his mind, and it was impossible for even him to sleep through that. "Fine," he snapped at her, turning on his heel and marching back to the short little woman who was forcing him to do things he never would have dreamed of doing in a million years just by asking him to. "But I get to sleep in the bed."

"Oh…okay; as long as you protect me from any more spiders." Wait- he hadn't meant for her to be in the bed too... Sasuke mentally sighed.

Wherever Itachi was at the moment, Sasuke knew his older brother was laughing at this as well.

He swept Sakura up into his arms like he always had before, and refused to look into her eyes or think of how ironic it was he was carrying her bridal style- and always had. He sat her down the moment his feet hit the carpet of the bedroom like she burned him. She might as well have; burning would be less painful than the way she made him open up.

He lied back down in his spot facing the bathroom (he had planned on shanghaiing the bed tonight the whole time, only in his original plan Sakura had been too timid to actually sleep in the bed too), and closed his eyes. He heard the closet opening as Sakura dug out an old outfit to sleep in. He began trying to calm his racing mind down, as Sakura changed. Thoughts flew around his head like a flock of birds; he wasn't even able to pin one down long enough to figure out what exactly was bothering him. During his time with Orochimaru, Sasuke could almost fall asleep on command, pretty much anywhere, for exactly the amount of time he wanted. Tonight however, he couldn't seem too. Sakura slipped into bed and flopped like a fish for thirty minutes trying to find a comfortable way to lay on her tiny slice of the bed. Still he couldn't sleep. Scenes from the day played through his head like a video on fast forward. Sasuke rolled over to face the other direction and back again. He tried all the successful techniques that had helped in the past- nothing worked.

It appeared it was going to be an uncomfortable night trying to stay in only the grand foot of width he was allotted on the bed- brooding about nothing. He was close regretting not just sleeping on the floor anyway, but he had to admit that even as limited as space was, the bed was still softer than the floor could ever hope to be.

Sakura rolled over, her shoulder accidentally brushing his back.

"Sasuke," she said softly, "are you still awake?"

If he hadn't been, he doubted her voice would be enough to wake him. "Aa."

She remained silent, but he could tell that she wanted to talk, or babble, or something. She probably wanted to ask him some bothersome questions about the past he didn't want to answer. _Because you know the answers will hurt her; they'll destroy any myths she's made herself believe about your goodness_, mocked the voice in his head.

So on some out-of-character impulse, he beat her to it. "Why did that spider bother you so much?"

As if they were playing opposites, Sakura didn't answer. The seconds ticked by on the clock in the other room, Sasuke counted one hundred and twenty-four before he heard Sakura suck in a deep breath and start softly, "It was years ago, when you were still gone. The details aren't that important. Let's just say that I ran into Deidera's exploding spiders alone. I already had a form of arachnophobia, and that encounter was very violent. I- I was covered in them, Sasuke- covered. I thought I was going to die then. But I'm not even sure that's why they bother me so much. Maybe it's that every time I see a spider now I think of that moment, when he and the Akatsuki were going to destroy my friends, my home and my family and I was completely helpless. But I- I over reacted tonight. I'm sorry. I should have controlled it better."

"Hn," he responded; only this time it wasn't a derisive "Hn" of agreement, it was one of understanding- almost one of empathy. Almost.

The next morning, Sakura woke up first; she was making breakfast in the kitchen when Sasuke emerged after his own tarantula-free shower. Sakura placed the simple breakfast on the buffet and handed Sasuke a fork as she began eating on the other side of the counter.

"I want to ask Shino to come over and take a look at the apartment. I've never seen an insect like that in Konoha before and I want to be sure that something isn't wrong," Sakura commented after five minutes of silence.

He frowned. With possible involvement by Madara, he supposed it never hurt to cover all your bases when it came to safety, and he understood spiders bothered her, but surely having Shino go over the apartment wasn't necessary; besides, he'd start asking questions and they'd have to explain- and that was definitely a breach of security. Of course, with her emotional involvement in this, he doubted she had thought of all that yet. He'd just have to point it out for her. "He'll ask questions."

Sakura frowned at the countertop. "Shino can keep secrets. Plus, if this is permanent, he'll find out sometime; it might as well be from us."

"Madara's still out there. The information could cost him his life," Sasuke argued.

"So what, we're just going to stop living because some walking corpse could come up from his grave at any time? That could be years, Sasuke. This "underground" living is impractical. We have to have a baby born in a year, remember? That's not going to cause rumors!" she bit out sarcastically.

"Are you ready for the rumors? For the constant danger? Are you ready for people to attempt to kidnap you because that would give them a way to hurt me? Are you ready to be the wife of an Uchiha? Are you ready to share my curse?" Perhaps this was really the question that needed to be answered. Maybe the reason this had been so hard on both of them was they had been avoiding the answer. Or maybe the answer was just "no".

Sakura speared an onigiri just a bit too hard, her fork clashing against her plate answering for her.

"I didn't think so," Sasuke sneered, turning on his heel. He was surprised by the bitterness he felt at her response. Some foolish place inside of him had hoped that she would still be willing to do anything, go anywhere, for him like the twelve year old girl she had been. At least she had yanked her head out of the clouds. He should do the same.

"If I could trust you, I would die for you."

He stopped in his tracks.

"Did you hear that, Uchiha? If you hadn't destroyed my trust in you I would do anything for you. Go anywhere. So earn my trust, and then you can call my shots. But not until then!" Sakura's fork clattered to the counter. "I'm going to bring Shino here. I'm going to see Ino again today. And I don't care what you think!" She turned on her heel and marched out the door.

He almost snorted as he finished his trip into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Where did she think she was going to be able to get to? All she had was thirty feet if he didn't follow her; and there was no way he was going to follow her and "lose" this fight.

…But maybe this wasn't so much of a fight. Sasuke thought back on her words for a moment. Perhaps this was really a diplomatic compromise. She was promising to be willing to endure whatever his heritage and past actions threw at them, as long as he proved she could trust him. As the vivid memories of his almost killing her flitted before his eyes, he decided she did indeed deserve that.

He felt Sakura reach the end of their thirty feet, and grimaced. However, she stopped moving, and he was able to breathe easier. Tsunade yelling at him about her passing out again would be beyond "troublesome".

But now that he had decided to call a truce, he supposed he needed to find a logical reason he needed to go to Sakura. As he glanced around, his eyes fell on her sandals setting neatly by the bathroom where he'd sat them this morning when he'd went in to take his shower. Sasuke smirked to himself. Bingo.

He found Sakura sitting exactly thirty feet away on the steps of a random house, barefoot, and somewhat repentant for her foolishness for leaving the house without her shoes. He tossed the sandals at her, and caught a glimpse of her smile before he started walking down the street toward the hospital.

"Does that mean we have an official cease-fire?" She called after him while she quickly slipped on her sandals.

"Aa."

"Does that mean you admit that I was right?" She needled.

He threw her a look before nodding in defeat. "It does."

He could swear he could feel her grinning at his back before she caught up with him.

"Make your visit quick," he ordered when they approached the hospital.

"Sasuke, she's my best friend!" Sakura protested.

"We can come back, Sakura," he pointed out.

"Later today?" She asked uncertainly.

"Hn."

"Hn," she mimicked.

He shot her a look.

She laughed.

He realized he didn't mind as much as he thought he did.

"Give me an hour," she promised as he leaned against the wall of the ward Ino was being kept in.

True to her word, she did keep the visit to about an hour. She returned with a brave, but wavering smile. "What now?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow in question. She shook her head and repeated her question.

"I want to get my weapons back from Naruto," he explained.

Sakura nodded and they walked to the bridge in silence, content to be alone with their own thoughts and memories.

"Ahh. Sasuke, Sakura, good to see you out this morning!" greeted Kakashi as he approached from behind them. "You're not training are you?"

"No, Kakashi-sensei. Just out for a walk," Sakura smiled. "I for one could use some socialization, even if the great Uchiha ice cube doesn't seem to think so." Sasuke shot her another look.

"Good, because I'd like to talk to you…alone, if you don't mind, Sasuke?"

He frowned. This had to be important, and he wanted to be a part of it. After all, he was her husband now. But, he knew Kakashi would never tell as long as he was around and he stood a good chance of hearing it from Sakura later. So, he turned silently and walked the rest of the way across the infamous bridge alone. A hot breeze blew across his face, lifting up his hair and blowing it in his face. He frowned. He never had liked breezes, but this one seemed artificial, like the result of a jutsu. He quickened his step slightly.

Sasuke found Naruto at the training grounds. Not surprising, but the fact he was training with Hyuuga Hinata, well that was. The date must have gone better than Sasuke had expected it to. It was about time the Dobe got a clue.

Sasuke couldn't help himself and flashed by the blonde, flicking him in the back of his head.

"Oi! TEME!" He roared.

Hinata jumped, tripped and they went down together.

Sasuke smirked.

"What was that for?!" Naruto glared, fighting down a blush as Hinata attempted to get off without fainting.

"Where's my katana, Dobe?"

Naruto scowled. "You interrupted my date- err, training for that?!" he asked, incredulous. Hinata "eeped" at Naruto's utterance of the "d" word.

"Yes," Sasuke replied simply.

"Egotistical jerk."

"Moron."

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Sasuke-san!" Hinata said forcefully, bowing low before the Uchiha. He blinked. Naruto gaped. "I believe that the Hokage would have your katana in her possession, as you were turned over to the village upon your return and all your personal property with you. Perhaps you should check there?"

"Hn. I will." He turned to Naruto. "Have you kissed her then? Is that why she's stopped stuttering so suddenly?"

Hinata went bleach white and fainted. Naruto caught her immediately, not bothering to stop glaring at Sasuke. "Stop being such a selfish prick," he snapped.

Sasuke didn't remember Naruto snapping like that before. He obviously cared about Hinata more than he realized. Sasuke inwardly smirked; he found his former teammate's situation amusing. They would be a happy couple. Probably the only functional one in Konoha at this point.

"My apologies, Hyuuga-san, kissing that toad is quite disturbing for you, I'm sure," he told the unconscienceous girl.

"Hump. You would know," Naruto grumbled behind him. Sasuke pretended not to hear as he walked away.

Sasuke slowly walked back the bridge. One of the worst things about his childhood had been the fact that he belonged nowhere; nobody had wanted him any longer. Because of that, Sasuke didn't do the whole "third wheel" thing. But with this stupid jutsu on them, he couldn't just walk away and avoid the situation like normal. No, he had to hang around Sakura and wait for her to do things, like finish a private conversation with their perverted old sensei.

But as soon as he came into sight, Kakashi called out to him. "Sakura informs me that you are looking for your katana and such. It's a good thing we ran into each other then. Tsunade gave them to me about a while ago and I misplaced them," he explained, scratching the back of his head. Sasuke frowned. That wasn't like Kakashi. But he took back his weapons without comment. "I'm afraid I haven't saved you a trip to the Hokage's office, though; I merely delayed it," he explained as Sasuke slipped his sword into place. It felt slightly awkward to have it on again after a year without it. He would have to train thoroughly soon. "She wishes to see the two of you tomorrow, to check up and discuss a few things," Kakashi finished explaining before he waved goodbye and walked on with his nose stuck in a certain orange book.

Neither the famous copynin nor Sakura saw the slip of paper Sasuke artfully placed in the final pages of the book as Kakashi walked by him.

"Okay then, off to see Shino," Sakura commented with the sort of false cheer one uses when encouraging children to "be good, we're almost done with the grocery shopping." He nodded though and said nothing, secretly smug in the confidence he would have all the information he needed to fulfill his goal of repossessing her by midnight.

**A/N: I would just like to point out here that this chapter is twice as long as normal. I need some feedback on the length of chapters. I know the ones I put out are generally pretty short, but that enables me to update a lot faster. This took a lot out of me, and quite frankly, if it wasn't for the break I had for the past couple weeks, this wouldn't have happened. So: longer chapters or faster updates? Which makes the overall story flow better? Which would you rather have?**


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